Abstract: Background and purpose: Long non-coding RNA Zinc finger E-box binding homeobox 1 antisense 1 (lncRNA ZEB1-AS1) is highly expressed in various tumors, and is associated with clinicopathological features and prognosis of tumor patients. However, its role and mechanism in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) are still unclear. This study was to explore the role of lncRNA ZEB1-AS1 in invasion and metastasis of ESCC cells. Methods: The expression level of lncRNA ZEB1-AS1 in 9 ESCC cell lines was detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RTFQ-PCR). Eca-109 cells were transfected with small interfering RNA (siRNA) and divided into interference group (siZEB1-AS1), interference control group (SiNC) and blank group (Eca-109). The expression level of lncRNA ZEB1-AS1 was detected by RTFQ-PCR. The cell proliferation ability was detected by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay. The cell migration and invasion ability were detected by scratch assay and transwell experiment. The expression levels of ZEB1 mRNA and protein were detected by RTFQ-PCR and Western blot. Results: Among the 9 ESCC cell lines, the expression level of lncRNA ZEB1-AS1 was highest in Eca-109 cells. SiRNA inhibited lncRNA ZEB1-AS1 expression which decreased to 57% of that in the control group. Compared with the control cells, lncRNA ZEB1-AS1 did not affect Eca-109 cell proliferation, but significantly promoted Eca-109 cell migration and invasion. LncRNA ZEB1-AS1 up-regulated the expression levels of ZEB1 mRNA and protein. Conclusion: LncRNA ZEB1-AS1 promotes ESCC migration and invasion by up-regulating ZEB1, and lncRNA ZEB1-AS1/ZEB1 may be a potential target for ESCC therapy.

Key words: ZEB1-AS1, Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, Invasion