Effect of DHRS4-AS1 on lung cancer proliferation,migration,invasion and apoptosis by mediating miR-221

MA Qiang; CHEN Dengzhen

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1002-7386.2025.06.008

Abstract：Objective To investigate the targeting regulation of long non-coding RNA(lncRNA)DHRS4-AS1 on microRNA(miR)-221 and the proliferation,migration,invasion and apoptosis of lung cancer cells.Methods Reverse transcription quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction(RT-qPCR)was used to detect the expressions of DHRS4-AS1 and miR-221 in lung cancer tissues.After transfecting with pcDNA3.1-DHRS4-AS1 or pcDNA3.1-NC into lung cancer cells A549,cell survival,colony formation and apoptosis were detected by MTT assay,colony formation assay and flow cytometry,respectively.Cell migration and invasion were examined by Transwell assay.Protein expressions of P21,E-cadherin,Caspase-3 and matrix metalloproteinase-2(MMP-2)were detected by Western blot.Dual luciferase reporting assay was performed to validate the targeting relationship between DHRS4-AS1 and miR-221.After co-transfecting pcDNA3.1-DHRS4-AS1 and miR-221 overexpression plasmid,the effects of overexpression of miR-221 on proliferation,apoptosis,migration and invasion of A549 cells induced by DHRS4-AS1 were observed.Results Compared with the adjacent normal tissue,DHRS4-AS1 was significantly downregulated and miR-221 was significantly upregulated in lung cancer tissue(P＜0.05).Overexpression of DHRS4-AS1 significantly increased apoptotic rate and protein levels of P21,Caspase-3 and E-cadherin,but decreased survival rate,protein level of MMP-2 and numbers of colonies,migratory cells and invasive cells P＜0.05).Overexpression of miR-221 could reverse the effects of DHRS4-AS1 on the proliferation,migration,invasion and apoptosis of A549 cells.Conclusion DHRS4-AS1 inhibits the proliferation,migration and invasion of lung cancer cells and induces cell apoptosis by targeting miR-221.