IGFL2-AS1 facilitates tongue squamous cell carcinoma progression via Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway

Objectives: Tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC) is the most common malignancy in oral cancer. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are important regulators in cancer biology. In our present study, we investigated a novel lncRNA IGF-like family member 2 antisense RNA 1 (IGFL2-AS1) in TSCC. Methods: RT-qPCR analyzed IGFL2-AS1 expression in TSCC cells. Functional assays assessed the impact of IGFL2-AS1 on TSCC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. Western blot analyzed the protein levels of EMT-related markers. Mechanism assays analyzed the regulatory mechanism of IGFL2-AS1 in TSCC cells. In-vivo experiments were conducted to prove the role of IGFL2-AS1 in TSCC progression. Results: IGFL2-AS1 was significantly up-regulated in TSCC cells and tissues, and IGFL2-AS1 knockdown inhibited cell proliferation, migration, invasion and EMT in TSCC. Moreover, IGFL2-AS1 functioned as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) to sponge miR-1224-5p and thereby modulated SATB homeobox 1 (SATB1) expression. Additionally, SATB1 activated the Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway in TSCC cells and IGFL2-AS1 regulated the Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway and TSCC progression via elevating SATB1 expression. Conclusions: The data revealed that IGFL2-AS1 played a cancer promoting role in TSCC and may aid in exploring a brand new biomarker that might contribute to TSCC treatment.