Effect of LINC00667 on the Malignant Biological Behavior of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Cells by Regulating the miR-454-3p/MAP3K9 Axis

This study investigated the effect of LINC00667 on the malignant biological behavior of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells by regulating the miR-454-3p/MAP3K9 axis. In this study, nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells HNE1 were divided into the control group, the si-NC group, the si-LINC00667 group, the mimic NC group, the miR-454-3p mimic group, the si-LINC00667+inhibitor NC group, and the si-LINC00667+miR-454-3p inhibitor group. qRT-PCR was applied to detect the mRNA expression levels of LINC00667, miR-454-3p, and MAP3K9. MTT assay was applied to detect cell proliferation. Scratch experiment was applied to detect cell migration. Transwell method was applied to detect cell invasion. TUNEL staining was applied to detect cell apoptosis. Western blot was applied to detect the expression level of MAP3K9 protein. Dual luciferase reporter gene assay was applied to detect the interaction between LINC00667 and miR-454-3p, and between miR-454-3p and MAP3K9. The results showed that compared with normal human nasopharyngeal epithelial cells, HNE1 had higher expression of LINC00667 and MAP3K9 mRNA, and lower expression of miR-454-3p (P<0.05). Compared with the control group and si-NC group, the expression of LINC00667, MAP3K9, cell proliferation, migration, and invasion abilities were lower in the si-LINC00667 group, while the expression of miR-454-3p and apoptosis rate were higher (P<0.05). The effect of transfecting miR-454-3p mimic on HNE1 cells was similar to that of transfecting si-LINC00667. Compared with the si-LINC00667+inhibitor NC group, the si-LINC00667+miR-454-3p inhibitor group had higher proliferation, migration, and invasion abilities of HNE1 cells, higher MAP3K9 expression, and lower miR-454-3p and apoptosis rate (P<0.05). The dual luciferase reporter gene experiment showed that LINC00667 had a targeted relationship with miR-454-3p, and miR-454-3p had a targeted relationship with MAP3K9. In summary, LINC00667 silencing may suppress the malignant biological behavior of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells by upregulating miR-454-3p expression and inhibiting MAP3K9 expression.

CSTR: 32200.14.cjcb.2025.04.0004