Abstract

Several studies have shown an important role for long non‐coding RNA (lncRNA) in breast cancer progression. The present study investigated the role of lncRNA Opa interacting protein 5‐antisense RNA 1 (OIP5‐AS1) in the progression of breast cancer. OIP5‐AS1 was significantly upregulated in breast cancer tissues and in breast cancer cell lines, and OIP5‐AS1 downregulation inhibited the malignant behavior of breast cancer in vitro and in vivo. For in‐depth exploration of the mechanism of OIP5‐AS1 in breast cancer, we found that expression of microRNA‐129‐5p(miR‐129‐5p), which was found to bind sites in the sequence of OIP5‐AS1, in breast cancer tissues was negatively correlated with OIP5‐AS1. Also, luciferase assays indicated that OIP5‐AS1 acted as a miR‐129‐5p sponge, resulting in upregulated expression of the sex‐determining region Y‐box 2 (SOX2) transcription factor. Our study showed that OIP5‐AS1 plays a critical role in promoting breast cancer progression and that OIP5‐AS1 downregulation targets SOX2 by miR‐129‐5p upregulation.