Abstract: To investigate the expression of long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) BCAN-AS1 in tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC) and the mechanism by which BCAN-AS1/miR-1224-5p/Wnt axis regulates the proliferation and invasion of TSCC cells, cBioPortal database was used to analyze BCAN-AS1 expression in TSCC tissues. qRT-PCR was used to detect the expression of BCAN-AS1 in normal human oral keratinocytes (HOK) and TSCC cells (Tca8113, HNl3, SCC-9, TSCCA, SCC-15). SCC-9 cells were cultured in vitro and divided into Con group (transfected with negative plasmid) and si-BCAN-AS1 group (transfected with si-BCAN-AS1 plasmid) according to the treatment method. The proliferation and invasion abilities of SCC-9 cells in each group were detected by clone formation assay and Transwell assay. Dual luciferase reporter assay verified the complementary combination between BCAN-AS1 and miR-1224-5p. The cBioPortal database was used to analyze the correlation between BCAN-AS1 and miR-1224-5p expressions in TSCC tissues. qRT-PCR was used to detect miR-1224-5p expression in SCC-9 cells in each group. Western blot detected Wnt/β-catenin pathway proteins expression in SCC-9 cells in each group. Compared with adjacent tissues, BCAN-AS1 was highly expressed in TSCC tissues (P<0.01). Compared with HOK cells, BCAN-AS1 was highly expressed in Tca8113, HNl3, SCC-9, TSCCA, and SCC-15 cells (P<0.01). The cell proliferation and invasion abilities of the si-BCAN-AS1 group were lower than those of the Con group (all P<0.01). BCAN-AS1 could target and bind to miR-1224-5p (P<0.01). miR-1224-5p expression in SCC-9 cells increased (P<0.01), and the expressions of β-catenin, Cyclin D1, с-mус, and MMP-7 proteins decreased (all P<0.01). BCAN-AS1 is highly expressed in TSCC, and downregulation of BCAN-AS1 can regulate the proliferation and invasion of TSCC SCC-9 cells through the miR-1224-5p/Wnt/β-catenin axis. BCAN-AS1 may become a molecular target for targeted therapy of TSCC.
Key words: BCAN-AS1; tongue squamous cell carcinoma; oral keratinocytes; miR-1224-5p; Wnt/β-catenin pathway
（Acta Laser Biology Sinica, 2025, 34(5): 473-480）