Abstract
Previous studies have indicated that long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) down syndrome cell adhesion molecule antisense 1 (DSCAM-AS1) serves an oncogenic role in numerous cancer types. However, its role in endometrial cancer (EC) remains largely unknown. In the present study, DSCAM-AS1 expression levels in EC tissues and cells and their normal counterparts were analyzed using reverse transcription-quantitative. In vitro and in vivo experiments were conducted to validate the functions of DSCAM-AS1 in EC. It was revealed that DSCAM-AS1 was expressed at a high level in EC tissues and cells after analyzing patient data and data obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas. Notably, it was also revealed that high DSCAM-AS1 expression was associated with a less favorable overall survival in patients with EC. Knockdown of DSCAM-AS1 was able to suppress EC cell proliferation by upregulating cell apoptosis in vitro. Furthermore, it was revealed that DSCAM-AS1 acted as a microRNA (miR)-136-5p sponge to exert its oncogenic roles in EC. Collectively and to the best of our knowledge, the current results provided first evidence that DSCAM-AS1 stimulated EC progression by regulating miR-136-5p, which may improve the understanding of the roles of ncRNAs in EC, and may help identify novel targets for anticancer treatment.