AC006262.5/miR-7855-5p/BPY2C axis facilitates hepatocellular carcinoma proliferation and migration.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a considerable threat to human life, and patients with HCC are usually diagnosed in the later stages. Although treatment for HCC has recently advanced rapidly, novel targets for HCC are still desperately needed, especially for precision medicine. Here, we identified an HCC enriched long non-coding RNA, AC006262.5, that promoted the proliferation, migration, and invasion of HCC both in vitro and in vivo. In addition, our results revealed that AC006262.5 bound to and regulated miR-7855-5p, a tumor suppressive miRNA in HCC. Moreover, our data illustrated that AC006262.5 regulated the expression of BPY2C via miR-7855-5p. Finally, we found that AC006262.5 and miR-7855-5p formed a regulatory loop. Upregulation of AC006262.5 resulted in the decreased expression of miR-7855-5p, and downregulation of miR-7855-5p further facilitated the expression of AC006262.5. Our study provides novel targets for HCC diagnosis and treatment and sheds light on the lncRNA-miRNA regulatory nexus that controls the pathology of HCC.