Long non-coding RNA SNHG6 enhances cell proliferation, migration and invasion by regulating miR-26a-5p/MAPK6 in breast cancer

The long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) has recently been shown to be important regulators involved in the progression of various human cancers. Small nucleolar RNA host gene 6 (SNHG6) is a recently identified cancer-related lncRNA. However, the clinical significance and biological function of SNHG6 in breast cancer (BC) are still unclear. In the present study, we found that SNHG6 was highly expressed in BC tissues and cell lines, which was associated with poorer clinicopathologic features. Knockdown of SNHG6 inhibited BC cell proliferation, migration and invasion in vitro and in vivo using CCK-8, Edu staining, transwell assays and nude mice model. Moreover, bioinformatics analysis and luciferase reporter experiments indicated that SNHG6 serves as an endogenous sponge by directly binding to miR-26a-5p and down-regulating miR-26a-5p expression. MiR-26a-5p overexpression significantly enhanced the effect of SNHG6 knockdown on the cell behaviors in BC. Furthermore, bioinformatics analysis and luciferase reporter indicated that MAPK6 was validated as a target of miR-26a-5p. Therefore, our study may reveal a novel SNHG6/miR-26a-5p/MAPK6 pathway regulatory axis in BC pathogenesis. SNHG6 may serve as a potential prognostic and therapeutic target in the treatment of BC.