An in vitro study of the long non-coding RNA TUG1 in tongue squamous cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: This study sought to study the expression of the long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) taurine-upregulated gene 1 (TUG1) in tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC) and reveal its possible function.

METHODS: qRT-PCR was used to evaluate 27 samples of fresh TSCC tissues and adjacent normal tongue tissues. siRNA technology was employed to downregulate TUG1 expression in CAL-27 and SCC-9 cell lines. The 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2-H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay was utilized to assess cell proliferation ability; apoptosis and cell-cycle phases were analysed via flow cytometry.

RESULTS: qRT-PCR findings indicated that the lncRNA TUG1 was upregulated in TSCC tissues compared with adjacent normal tongue tissues (P<.05). After TUG1 expression was downregulated using siRNA technology, cell proliferation was significantly inhibited (P<.05), and the number of cells in S phase was reduced (P<.05).

CONCLUSION: The lncRNA TUG1 may represent a potential oncogene in TSCC.