Long non-coding RNA (lnc) HCG18 has been reported to contribute progression of a variety of tumors. However, its roles in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unknown. In the current study, we intended to uncover the biological functions of HCG18 in HCC. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was conducted to detect the expression of HCG18, microRNA-214-3p (miR-214-3p) and centromere protein M (CENPM) messenger RNA (mRNA). The role of HCG18 in the growth and migration were assessed by 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, colony formation assay, wound healing assay and flow cytometry in vitro and animal experiments in vivo. The results showed that HCG18 was highly expressed in HCC tissues. HCG18 silencing inhibited the proliferation and migration while induced the apoptosis of HCC cells. Besides, miR-214-3p was downregulated in HCC cells. Further experiments revealed that miR-214-3p could directly bind to HCG18 and exerted an anti-tumor role to counteracted siHCG18-1-mediated influence in HCC cells. Moreover, miR-214-3p could directly interact with CENPM mRNA and down-regulating the expression of CENPM. While HCG18 could up-regulated the expression of CENPM through acting as a sponge of miR-214-3p. Therefore, those results suggested HCG18 functioned as an oncogene to promote the proliferation and migration of HCC cells via miR-214-3p/CENPM axis.

中文翻译：

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LncRNA HCG18通过miR-214-3p / CENPM轴促进肝细胞癌的进展。

据报道，长的非编码RNA（lnc）HCG18有助于多种肿瘤的进展。但是，其在肝细胞癌（HCC）中的作用仍然未知。在本研究中，我们打算揭示HCG18在肝癌中的生物学功能。进行实时定量聚合酶链反应（qRT-PCR）以检测HCG18，microRNA-214-3p（miR-214-3p）和着丝粒蛋白M（CENPM）信使RNA（mRNA）的表达。在体外和体外通过3-（4,5-二甲基噻唑-2-基）-2,5-二苯基四唑溴化物（MTT）测定，菌落形成测定，伤口愈合测定和流式细胞术评估HCG18在生长和迁移中的作用。体内动物实验。结果显示HCG18在肝癌组织中高表达。HCG18沉默抑制增殖和迁移，同时诱导HCC细胞凋亡。此外，miR-214-3p在HCC细胞中被下调。进一步的实验表明，miR-214-3p可以直接与HCG18结合，并在抵抗siHCG18-1介导的HCC细胞影响中发挥抗肿瘤作用。而且，miR-214-3p可以直接与CENPM mRNA相互作用并下调CENPM的表达。HCG18可以通过充当miR-214-3p的海绵来上调CENPM的表达。因此，这些结果表明，HCG18可以作为癌基因，通过miR-214-3p / CENPM轴促进HCC细胞的增殖和迁移。