Upregulation of Lnc RNA ‐ HIT promotes migration and invasion of non‐small cell lung cancer cells by association with ZEB 1

Lung cancer is the most common solid tumor and the leading cause of cancer‐related mortality worldwide. Non‐small cell lung cancer ( NSCLC ) accounts for approximately 80% of all lung cancer cases. The main reason of lung cancer‐related deaths is due to tumor metastasis. But, the mechanisms of NSCLC metastasis remains poorly understood. Lnc RNA s play pivotal roles in multiple biological processes. Lnc RNA ‐ HIT ( HOXA transcript induced by TGF β ) was recently identified. Lnc RNA ‐ HIT promotes cell migration, invasion, tumor growth, and metastasis. However, the detailed role of lnc RNA ‐ HIT in NSCLC remains unknown. In this study, for the first time, we revealed a novel role of lnc RNA ‐ HIT in the migration and invasion of NSCLC cells. The expression of lnc RNA ‐ HIT was significantly upregulated in NSCLC tissues and cell lines, and the expression level of lnc RNA ‐ HIT correlates with advanced disease stage and predicts unfavorable prognosis of NSCLC patients. Functional assays demonstrated that lnc RNA ‐ HIT markedly increased the ability of NSCLC cells to migrate and invade. Furthermore, the molecular mechanism by which lnc RNA ‐ HIT affects NSCLC cells was associated with regulation of ZEB 1 stability. Lnc RNA ‐ HIT functions as a prometastasis oncogene by directly associating with ZEB 1 to regulate NSCLC . The interaction of lnc RNA ‐ HIT and ZEB 1 may be a potential target for NSCLC therapy.