NEAT1 has been significantly over-expressed in NSCLC tissues obtained from male subjects compared with the corresponding ANCTs (Relative expression (REx) = 3.022, P = 0.019) but not in female subjects (P = 0.975).
Knockdown of NEAT1 was able to decrease the CSC-like properties in NSCLC cells, while over-expression of NEAT1 could contribute to the stemness respectively.
In conclusion, our study suggested that lncRNA NEAT1 plays an oncogenic role in NSCLC progression and provides potential mechanisms by which lncRNA NEAT1 contributes to this disease.
Taken together, these observations imply that the NEAT1 modulated the expression of E2F3 gene by acting as a ceRNA, which may build up the missing link between the regulatory miRNA network and NSCLC progression.