LINC00037 Inhibits Proliferation of Renal Cell Carcinoma Cells in an Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor-Dependent Way

Background/Aims: LINC00037 has previously been reported to be up-regulated in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC), however, the underlying mechanism remained unknown. In this study, we designed to investigate the functional role of LINC00037 in ccRCC Methods: LINC00037 knockdown and re-expressing 786-O and A498 cells were established. CCK8 assay and EdU assay were performed to evaluate the proliferation rates of ccRCC cells. Flow cytometry assay was performed to detect the cell apoptosis and cell cycle. Subcutaneous injection xenotransplantation mouse model was used to observe the role of LINC00037 in tumor growth in vivo. Mass spectrometry (MS) was performed to find the interacting partner of LINC00037 and RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) was carried out to validate their interaction. Results: We found that knockdown of LINC00037 resulted in inhibited cell proliferation with activated apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in vitro. Over-expression of LINC00037 in LINC00037 knockdown cells restored and enhanced cell proliferation. In vivo mouse model indicated reduced tumor progression by LINC00037 depletion and promoted tumor progression by LINC00037 overexpression. LINC00037 could bind to epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and increase the protein level of EGFR. Conclusion: LINC00037 could inhibit proliferation of ccRCC in an epidermal growth factor receptor-dependent way.