Background: Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been reported to play important roles in cellular biological function. Aberrant expression of lncRNAs has been found to be related to the progression of various diseases. LncRNA prostate cancer gene expression marker 1 (PCGEM1) has been demonstrated to be involved in the initiation and progression of human cancers. However, to date, the clinical and functional significance of PCGEM1 expression in NSCLC progression remains unknown.

Methods: The expression of LncRNA PCGEM1 and miR-152-3p in NSCLC tissues and cells was analyzed using quantitative real-time RT-PCR. Experiments using NSCLC cells were conducted to explore the influence of PCGEM1 on tumor cell proliferation, migration and invasion.

Results: Increased expression of PCGEM1 was observed in NSCLC tissues and cells compared with the corresponding controls (all P < 0.001). PCGEM1 expression was associated with NSCLC patients’ lymph node metastasis and TNM stage (all P < 0.05), and the knockdown of PCGEM1 in NSCLC cells led to inhibited cell proliferation, migration and invasion. The further luciferase reporter assay and expression results showed that miR-152-3p might be a target gene of PCGEM1 and mediate the effects of PCGEM1 on cell proliferation, migration and invasion in NSCLC.

Conclusion: Thus, the findings from the present study indicate that the NSCLC patients have significantly increased PCGEM1 and decreased miR-152-3p expression and that the knockdown of PCGEM1 may inhibit NSCLC cell proliferation, migration and invasion by sponging miR-152-3p. The PCGEM1/miR-152-3p axis may provide novel therapeutic targets for NSCLC treatment.

背景：据报道，长链非编码 RNA (lncRNA) 在细胞生物学功能中发挥重要作用。已发现lncRNA的异常表达与各种疾病的进展有关。LncRNA 前列腺癌基因表达标志物 1 (PCGEM1) 已被证明与人类癌症的发生和进展有关。然而，迄今为止，PCGEM1 表达在 NSCLC 进展中的临床和功能意义仍然未知。

方法：采用实时定量 RT-PCR 分析 LncRNA PCGEM1 和 miR-152-3p 在 NSCLC 组织和细胞中的表达。使用NSCLC细胞进行实验以探索PCGEM1对肿瘤细胞增殖、迁移和侵袭的影响。

结果：与相应的对照相比，在 NSCLC 组织和细胞中观察到 PCGEM1 的表达增加（均 P < 0.001）。PCGEM1的表达与NSCLC患者的淋巴结转移和TNM分期有关（均P < 0.05），PCGEM1在NSCLC细胞中的敲低导致细胞增殖、迁移和侵袭受到抑制。进一步的荧光素酶报告基因检测和表达结果表明，miR-152-3p可能是PCGEM1的靶基因，并介导PCGEM1对NSCLC细胞增殖、迁移和侵袭的影响。

结论：因此，本研究的结果表明，NSCLC 患者 PCGEM1 显着增加而 miR-152-3p 表达降低，并且 PCGEM1 的敲低可能通过海绵化 miR-152-3p 抑制 NSCLC 细胞增殖、迁移和侵袭。PCGEM1/miR-152-3p 轴可能为 NSCLC 治疗提供新的治疗靶点。