Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) modulate endometriosis. The current study investigated the mechanisms and effects of SNHG4 on endometriosis. The qRT-PCR was conducted to examine the miR-148a-3p and SNHG4 expressions in endometriosis tissues. The 5-ethynyl-2′-deoxyuridine incorporation assay and 3-(4, 5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2, 5-diphenyl-2-H-tetrazolium bromide assay were used to measure the rate of cell proliferation. The association between miR-148a-3p, SNHG4 and c-Met was confirmed via bioinformatical approach and luciferase reporter gene assay. Also, the function of SNHG4 on the growth of endometriotic lesions was investigated in vivo. The SNHG4 expression was considerably upregulated in endometriosis tissues, whereas the level of miR-148a-3p expression was reduced. In addition, SNHG4 can be considered as ceRNAs that bind miR-148a-3p and rise the proliferation activity of HESCs by downregulating miR-148a-3p. Furthermore, silencing SNHG4 could downregulate the c-Met level by enhancing miR-148a-3p expression, and finally inhibiting endometriosis development in vivo. LncRNA SNHG4 promotes the increased growth of endometrial tissue outside the uterine cavity via regulating c-Met mediated by miR-148a-3p, which may be used as diagnostic biomarker as well as molecular target in the treatment of endometriosis.

长非编码RNA（lncRNA）调节子宫内膜异位。目前的研究调查了SNHG4对子宫内膜异位症的机制和作用。进行qRT-PCR以检查子宫内膜异位症组织中的miR-148a-3p和SNHG4表达。使用5-乙炔基-2'-脱氧尿苷掺入测定法和3-（4，5-二甲基-2-噻唑基）-2，5-二苯基-2-H-溴化四唑鎓测定法测量细胞增殖速率。miR-148a-3p，SNHG4和c-Met之间的关联已通过生物信息学方法和萤光素酶报告基因检测确定。另外，在体内研究了SNHG4对子宫内膜异位病变的生长的功能。在子宫内膜异位症组织中，SNHG4表达明显上调，而miR-148a-3p表达水平降低。此外，SNHG4可以被视为与miR-148a-3p结合并通过下调miR-148a-3p来提高HESC增殖活性的ceRNA。此外，沉默SNHG4可以通过增强miR-148a-3p表达来下调c-Met水平，并最终抑制体内子宫内膜异位症的发展。LncRNA SNHG4通过调节由miR-148a-3p介导的c-Met促进子宫腔外子宫内膜组织的生长，这可以用作诊断子宫内膜异位症的生物标志物和分子靶标。