Study on the LncRNA SNHG15 promoting the epithelial mesenchymal transformation of breast cancer cells by regulating miRNA-451a

ObjectiveTo study the effects of leng noncoding RAN small nucleolar RNA host gene 15(LncRNA SNHG15) and microRNA-451a(miRNA-451a) on the biological activity of breast cancer cells.

MethodsThe expression levels of SNHG15, miRNA-451a and chemokine receptor 4(CXCR4) in drug-resistant breast cancer SKBR3-PR cells were detected using qRT-PCR.The effects of the SNHG15 and miRNA-451a inhibitors on SKBR3-PR cells migration were determined by cell scratch assay.Flow cytometry was used to detect the apoptosis, and the protein expression levels of CXCR4, epithelial mesenchymal transformation(EMT)-related proteins Vimentin and Snail were detected by Western blotting.

ResultsCompared with the parent cells, the expression level of miRNA-451a decreased(P<0.05), the expression level of CXCR4 was up-regulated in drug-resistant breast cancer cell lines(P<0.01).The results of cell scratch assay showed that the SNHG15 promoted cell migration(P<0.01), and the miRNA-451a inhibited cell migration(P<0.01).The results of apoptosis assay showed that the SNHG15 inhibited apoptosis(P<0.01) and the miRNA-451a promoted apoptosis(P<0.01).After interfering SNHG15, the results of Western blotting showed that the expression levels of EMT-related proteins Snail and CXCR4 decreased, the expression levels of Snail and CXCR4 increased in miRNA-451a inhibitor group(P<0.01), and the differences of the Vimentin expression level was not statistically significant(P>0.05).

ConclusionsLncRNA SNHG15 may promote the migration and apoptosis of breast cancer cells by regulating miRNA-451a, and potentially regulate CXCR4 to induce EMT of breast cancer cells.