The overexpression of lncRNA MEG3 inhibits cell viability and invasion and promotes apoptosis in ovarian cancer by sponging miR-205-5p: Int J Clin Exp Pathol. 2020; 13(5): 869-879

A reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was conducted to analyze the expression levels of MEG3 and miR-205-5p in tissues and cell lines. An MTT assay was utilized to determine the cell viability of ovarian cancer SKOV-3 and OVCAR-8 cells. A flow cytometry analysis was employed to disclose the ovarian cancer cell apoptosis. The migration and invasion of SKOV-3 and OVCAR-8 cells were examined using a Transwell assay. A bioinformatics analysis indicated miR-205-5p as a direct target of MEG3, and a luciferase reporter assay was conducted to validate the interaction between MEG3 and miR-205-5p.

MEG3 was significantly down-regulated, while miR-205-5p was up-regulated in ovarian cancer tissues and cell lines. The overexpression of MEG3 and the knockdown of miR-205-5p inhibited cell viability, migration and invasion but promoted the apoptosis rate in ovarian cancer cells. MiR-205-5p was identified as a downstream gene of MEG3 and is negatively regulated by MEG3. The introduction of miR-205-5p reversed the up-regulation of MEG3-mediated suppression effects on cell viability, migration and invasion and increased cell apoptosis in ovarian cancer cells.