Long noncoding RNA BMPR1B-AS1 facilitates endometrial cancer cell proliferation and metastasis by sponging miR-7-2-3p to modulate the DCLK1/Akt/NF-κB pathway

Endometrial carcinoma (EC) originates from the endometrium and is one of the most common tumors in female patients, and its incidence has continued to increase in recent decades. LncRNAs are involved in the pathogenesis and metastasis of a variety of malignant tumors, which indicates that lncRNAs can be used as tumor diagnostic markers and potential therapeutic targets. In this study, we analyzed the RNA transcripts of EC cells from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and first reported a novel lncRNA, BMPR1B-AS1, that was more highly expressed in endometrial cancer tissues than in adjacent tissues, and BMPR1B-AS1 could promote endometrial cancer cell proliferation and metastasis. Bioinformatics prediction and experimental results both suggested that BMPR1B-AS1 could modulate the malignant behaviors of endometrial cancer cell lines by sponging miR-7-2-3p to modulate DCLK1, and a DCLK1 inhibitor blocked the activation of the PI3K/Akt/NF-κB signaling pathway. Collectively, this study suggests that the BMPR1B-AS1/miR-7-2-3p/DCLK1 axis contributes to the proliferation and metastasis of endometrial cancer cells via the PI3K/Akt/NF-κB pathway.