Expression of LINC01606 in multiple myeloma and its effect on cell invasion and migration

Given the increasing incidence of multiple myeloma (MM) in recent years, a full understanding of its pathogenesis to find effective molecular markers carries huge implications for future clinical diagnosis and treatment of MM. As the research advances, accumulating studies have pointed out that long non-coding RNAs (LncRNAs) may be the key to the future diagnosis and treatment of neoplastic diseases.

This study investigated the clinical implications of LncRNA LINC01606 in MM and its effects on the biological behavior of MM cells.

In this prospective study, 72 patients with MM (group A) admitted between July 2014 and July 2016 and 68 healthy subjects (group B) who concurrently underwent physical examination in our hospital were included. The expression of LINC01606 in peripheral blood of patients in the two groups was detected to analyze its diagnostic and prognostic value in MM. In addition, MM cells were purchased and transfected with plasmids for mimics, inhibitors and negative control of LINC01606 and miR-579-3p respectively to detect the changes in cell proliferation, invasion and migration.

The expression of LINC01606 in group A was higher than that in group B (P<0.050). The sensitivity and specificity of peripheral blood LINC01606 in predicting MM were 85.29% and 72.39%, respectively (P<0.001). Prognostic follow-up analysis revealed higher LINC01606 levels in the dead than those in the survival. The predictive sensitivity of LINC01606 for the 3-year mortality of MM patients was 63.16%, and the specificity was 86.00% (P<0.001). Higher expression of LINC01606 indicated increased risk of 3-year mortality in patients with MM (P<0.001). Compared with LINC01606 overexpression and miR-579-3p inhibition, the proliferation, invasion and migration of cells decreased more significantly by LINC01606 inhibition and miR-579-3p overexpression (P<0.050). Dual luciferase reporter (DLR) assay confirmed the targeting relationship between LINC01606 and miR-579-3p. There was no significant difference in the activity of MM cells co-transfected with LINC01606-inhibitor and miR-579-3p-inhibitor plasmids compared with the blank group (P>0.050).

LINC01606, with a high expression profile in MM, promotes the proliferation, migration and invasion of MM cells through targeted inhibition of miR-579-3p, which may be the key to future diagnosis and treatment of MM.