Cutaneous melanoma is an aggressive cancer, which is the most common type of melanoma. In our previous studies, gambogenic acid (GNA) inhibited the proliferation and migration of melanoma cells. Maternally expressed gene 3 (MEG3) is a long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) that has been shown to have inhibitory effects in a variety of cancers. However, the mechanisms in melanoma progression need to be further investigated. In the current study, we investigated the inhibitory effect of GNA on melanoma and its molecular mechanism through a series of cell and animal experiments. We found that GNA could improve epithelial mesenchymal transition by up-regulating the expression of the lncRNA MEG3 gene, thereby inhibiting melanoma metastasis in vitro and in vivo.
Keywords: epithelial–mesenchymal-transition (EMT); gambogenic acid; invasion; long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) maternally expressed gene 3 (MEG3); melanoma.