LncRNA-MALAT1/miRNA-204-5p/Smad4 Axis Regulates Epithelial–Mesenchymal Transition, Proliferation and Migration of Lens Epithelial Cells

<b>Purpose</b>: Posterior capsular opacification (PCO), a common complication after cataract surgery, primarily originated from the epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT), proliferation, and migration of human lens epithelial cells (LECs). This study aimed to explore whether the long noncoding RNA metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (MALAT1)/miR-204-5p/Smad4 axis are involved in EMT of LECs. LECs were cultured and induced with TGF-β2 (10 ng/mL). SiRNA against MALAT1 (Si‐MALAT1) was transfected into LECs to knockdown the expression of MALAT1. To overexpress or knockdown miR‐204-5p, miR-204-5p mimics (miR-204-5p mimics) and anti-miR-204-5p (miR-204-5p inhibitor) were transfected into LECs. We used RNA FISH to identify the location of MALAT1. RNA levels of MALAT1 and miR-204-5p were analyzed by RT-qPCR. Additionally, target protein levels of Smad4, epithelial differentiation and mesenchymal markers were analyzed with Western blot. We employed EdU Labeling to measured cell proliferation and performed Transwell Assay to analyze the cell migration. Dual-luciferase reporter assays in LECs were conducted to verify whether miRNA-204-5p was negatively regulated by MALAT1 and Smad4 was a direct target of miR-204-5p. The expression of MALAT1 was upregulated in PCO specimens. MALAT1 was overexpressed in TGF-β2 induced LECs, and the knockdown of MALAT1 could attenuate TGF-β2 induced EMT. Besides, the upregulation of MALAT1 was correlated with the downregulation of miR-204-5p and upregulation of Smad4. Importantly, MALAT1 was revealed to be located in the cytoplasm of LECs. Furthermore, luciferase reporter assays confirmed that MALAT1 could negatively regulate the expression of miR-204-5p and then regulate its direct target Smad4. Finally, the knockdown of MALAT1 could inhibit the EMT, proliferation, and migration of LECs; however, those can be reversed by anti-miR-204-5p. Our findings reveal that MALAT1 may regulate EMT, proliferation, and migration of LECs as a ceRNA by “sponging” miR-204-5p and targeting Smad4, and serve as a promising therapeutic target in preventing PCO.