LncRNA SNHG3 promotes bladder cancer proliferation and metastasis through miR-515-5p/GINS2 axis

Growing evidence suggests that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are associated with carcinogenesis. LncRNA small nucleolar RNA host gene 3 (SNHG3) is up-regulated in various cancers and positively associated with poor prognosis of these cancers. However, the precise role of lncRNA SNHG3 in bladder cancer (Bca) remains unclear. In our research, we first reported that lncRNA SNHG3 was up-regulated in bladder cancer tissues and positively related to poor clinical prognosis. Moreover, knockdown of lncRNA SNHG3 significantly suppressed the proliferation, migration, invasion and EMT process of Bca cells in vitro and vivo. Mechanistically, we revealed that suppression of SNHG3 evidently enhanced miR-515-5p expression and decreased GINS2 expression at posttranscriptional levels. Moreover, SNHG3 positively regulated GINS2 expression by sponging miR-515-5p under a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) mechanism. To sum up, our study suggested lncRNA SNHG3 acted as a microRNA sponge and an oncogenic role in the progression of bladder cancer.