Fig 2: Hypothetical working model of lncRNA NR2F1-AS1 in GC.NR2F1-AS1 expression was greatly upregulated in GC, especially in metastatic GC cells with mesenchymal phenotypes. In the normal gastric cells or the epithelial GC cells, the ceRNA network, composed of NR2F1-AS1, miR-29a-3p and VAMP7, is balanced. After tumorigenesis or initiation of EMT, the ceRNA network is dyregulated, resulting in overexpression of the oncogene VAMP7, which ultimately drives GC progression.

Fig 3: NR2F1-AS1 acted as a sponge of miR-29a-3p to regulate VAMP7 expression.a The subcellular distribution of NR2F1-AS1 in SGC7901 cells. b NR2F1-AS1 transcripts were located in cytoplasm and nucleus of GC cells. c GO analysis confirmed NR2F1-AS1 knockdown mainly function in cytoplasm. d The miRNAs that sponged by NR2F1-AS1 and miRNAs that targeting VAMP7 were predicted by miRCode and TargetScan. e The survival analysis of miR-218-5p and miR-29a/b/c-3p in GC. f Knockdown of NR2F1-AS1 significantly upregulated miR-29a-3p expression in GC cell lines. g, h VAMP7 was negatively regulated by miR-29a-3p in GC cell lines. i Luciferase reporter assay confirmed that miR-29a-3p can bind to NR2F1-AS1. j Rescue assay confirmed that miR-29a-3p inhibited the colony formation of GC cells by targeting VAMP7. k, l Both NR2F1-AS1 and VAMP7 showed a significant negative expression correlation with miR-29a-3p in the GC cohort from TCGA. **P < 0.01.