The lncRNA PCAT1 is correlated with poor prognosis and promotes cell proliferation, invasion, migration and EMT in osteosarcoma.

Introduction: Osteosarcoma is a malignant primary bone cancer and is lethal to children and adolescents. Recently, the dysregulation of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) has been shown in various types of cancers.

Aim: The present study aimed to examine the role of the lncRNA prostate cancer-associated transcript 1 (PCAT1) in osteosarcoma progression.

Materials and methods: The expression levels of relevant genes in clinical samples and cell lines were determined by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Cell proliferation, invasion and migration were examined by CCK-8 assay, transwell invasion and migration assay, respectively. Cell apoptosis and cell cycle were detected by flow cytometry. Protein levels were detected by Western blot.

Results: Our results showed that PCAT1 was upregulated in osteosarcoma tissues when compared to normal bone tissues. PCAT1 was also upregulated in osteosarcoma cell lines when compared to normal bone cell line. The upregulation of PCAT1 was significantly associated with advanced clinical stage, tumor metastasis and shorter overall survival in patients with osteosarcoma. In vitro studies showed that overexpression of PCAT1 in MG-63 cells enhanced cell proliferation, cell invasion and migration and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT); decreased cell apoptotic rate; and also caused an increase in cell population at S phase with a decrease in cell population at G0 /G1 phase. Knockdown of PCAT1 in U2OS cells suppressed cell proliferation, cell invasion and migration, and EMT; increased cell apoptotic rate; and caused an increase in the cell population at G0 /G1 phase with a decrease in cell population at S phase.

Conclusion: Taken together, our results suggest the oncogenic role of PCAT1 in osteosarcoma progression.