Objective To investigate the effect and mechanism of lncRNA FOXD2-AS1 on the proliferation, invasion and metastasis of gastric cancer cells.

Methods Data mining and clinical samples were used to verify the expression of lncRNA FOXD2-AS1 in cancer and adjacent normal tissues, and its correlation with clinical pathological stage and prognosis of the patients. The expression of lncRNA FOXD2-AS1 in gastric cancer cell line BGC-823 was inhibited. CCK8 colorimetric method, wound-healing assay and Transwell experiment were used to detect cell proliferation, migration and invasion. Western blot was used to detect the expression of E-Cadherin, N-cadherin, Vimentin and critical proteins of Wnt/β-catenin pathway.

Results lncRNA FOXD2-AS1 expression was significantly higher in cancer tissues than that in adjacent tissues, and was associated with tumor stage and prognosis. The expression of lncRNA FOXD2-AS1 was increased in gastric cancer cell lines. Inhibition of lncRNA FOXD2-AS1 expression could significantly reduce the proliferation, migration and invasion of gastric cancer cells, and upregulate E-Cadherin expression while down-regulate the expression of N-cadherin, Vimentin, β-catenin and Cyclin-D1 (all P < 0.05).

Conclusion LncRNA FOXD2-AS1 is highly expressed in gastric cancer tissues, and regulates the expression of EMT-related proteins through the Wnt-β-catenin pathway to promote the development of gastric cancer and affect the prognosis of patients.