Downregulation of LncRNA DARS-AS1 Inhibits the Tumorigenesis of Cervical Cancer via Inhibition of IGF2BP3.

Evidence has been shown that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play an important role in the development of cervical cancer. Recently, lncRNA DARS-AS1 was reported to be dysregulated in several cancer types; however, the role of DARS-AS1 in cervical cancer remains unclear. Flow cytometry and transwell invasion assays were performed to determine the apoptosis and invasion in cervical cancer cells. In addition, RNA pull-down and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) assays were conducted to assess the interaction between DARS-AS1 and IGF2BP3 in cervical cancer cells. Downregulation of DARS-AS1 significantly induced apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in cervical cancer cells. Meanwhile, the invasion ability of cervical cancer cells was inhibited by DARS-AS1 knockdown as well. RNA pull-down and FISH results showed that DARS-AS1 interacted with IGF2BP3. Mechanistically, DARS-AS1 positively regulated IGF2BP3 expression via stabilization of IGF2BP3 mRNA. Rescue assays confirmed that DARS-AS1 regulated the progression of cervical cancer through interacting with IGF2BP3 in vitro. In addition, in vivo experiments revealed that downregulation of DARS-AS1 inhibited tumor growth in SiHa xenograft model. In this study, we found that downregulation of DARS-AS1 could inhibit the growth of cervical cancer cells via inhibition of IGF2BP3, suggesting DARS-AS1 might serve as a potential target for the treatment of cervical cancer.