LncRNA <italic>MT1JP</italic> functions as a ceRNA in regulating FBXW7 through competitively binding to miR-92a-3p in gastric cancer.

Background: Emerging evidence has shown that dysregulation function of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) implicated in gastric cancer (GC). However, the role of the differentially expressed lncRNAs in GC has not fully explained. Methods: LncRNA expression profiles were determined by lncRNA microarray in five pairs of normal and GC tissues, further validated in another 75 paired tissues by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). Overexpression of lncRNA <italic>MT1JP</italic> was conducted to assess the effect of <italic>MT1JP</italic> in vitro and in vivo. The biological functions were demonstrated by luciferase reporter assay, western blotting and rescue experiments. Results: LncRNA <italic>MT1JP</italic> was significantly lower in GC tissues than adjacent normal tissues, and higher <italic>MT1JP</italic> was remarkably related to lymph node metastasis and advance stage. Besides, GC patients with higher <italic>MT1JP</italic> expression had a well survival. Functionally, overexpression of lncRNA <italic>MT1JP</italic> inhibited cell proliferation, migration, invasion and promoted cell apoptosis in vitro, and inhibited tumor growth and metastasis in vivo. Functional analysis showed that lncRNA <italic>MT1JP</italic> regulated FBXW7 expression by competitively binding to miR-92a-3p. MiR-92a-3p and down-regulated FBXW7 reversed cell phenotypes caused by lncRNA <italic>MT1JP</italic> by rescue analysis. Conclusion: <italic>MT1JP</italic>, a down-regulated lncRNA in GC, was associated with malignant tumor phenotypes and survival of GC. <italic>MT1JP</italic> regulated the progression of GC by functioning as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) to competitively bind to miR-92a-3p and regulate FBXW7 expression. Our study provided new insight into the post-transcriptional regulation mechanism of lncRNA <italic>MT1JP</italic>, and suggested that <italic>MT1JP</italic> may act as a potential therapeutic target and prognosis biomarker for GC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]