Long Noncoding RNA SNHG6 Functions as an Oncogene in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer via Modulating ETS1 Signaling

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a great threat to human health and the biology of the NSCLC still remains largely unknown. Aberrantly expressed long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) Small nucleolar RNA host gene 6 (SNHG6) was involved in the tumorigenesis and progression of various cancers. The aim of this study is to investigate the roles of SNHG6 in NSCLC.

qRT-PCR and Western blot assays were applied to detect gene expressions. Cell proliferation and migration assays were used to analyze the gene functions. Luciferase reporter assay, RNA Immunoprecipitation assay and Chromatin immunoprecipitation assay were performed to investigate the molecular mechanism.

We found that SNHG6 expression was significantly increased in NSCLC tissues and cell lines and its high expression was correlated with malignant features of NSCLC. In in vitro assays, knockdown of SNHG6 significantly depressed the proliferation vitality and migration activity of NSCLC cells. Research on mechanisms revealed that SNHG6 exerted its tumorigenesis role by promoting ETS1 expression via competitively binding with miR-944 and miR-181d-5p. We also demonstrated that ETS1 enhanced the expression of WIPF1 via binding to its promoter and SNHG6 could thereby regulate the expression of ETS1 target genes including WIPF1, MMP2 and MMP9.

Our study illustrates that SNHG6 is an oncogene in NSCLC and involved in NSCLC tumorigenesis by regulating ETS1 signaling via miR-944 and miR-181d-5p.