Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the role of ILF3-AS1 in regulating the survival of melanoma and its molecular mechanism.
Methods: The relative expression level of ILF3-AS1 in melanoma was assessed by qPCR. The effect of ILF3-AS1 and PDK1 on the cell viability was tested by MTT assay. Glucose uptake colorimetric assay, lactate assay, the measurements of extracellular acidification rate (ECAR) and Oxygen consumption rate (OCR) were performed to test the effect of ILF3-AS1 and PDK1 on the cellular glycolysis. Luciferase assay was conducted to detect the interactions of ILF3-AS1, miR-493-5p and PDK1. RNA immunoprecipitation chip (RIP) assay was used to detect the enrichments of ILF3-AS1 and miR-493-5p in the complex. Protein level of PDK1 was detected by western blot analysis.
Results: qPCR revealed that ILF3-AS1 was upregulated in human melanoma cell lines. MTT assay showed that ILF3-AS1 knockdown blunted cell proliferation, which was rescued by the overexpression of PDK1. Glucose uptake colorimetric assay, lactate assay, the measurements of ECAR and OCR indicated that ILF3-AS1 promoted glycolysis through PDK1. Western blotting results showed that ILF3-AS1 overexpression promoted PDK1 expression, which was prevented by miR-493-5p overexpression in SK-MEL-1 cells.
Conclusions: ILF3-AS1 promotes the aerobic glycolysis and survival of melanoma cells involving miR-493-5p/PDK1 pathway.