Little is known about
long non-coding RNA (
lncRNA) related to innate immunity in
lung cancer. The advanced glycosylation end-product specific receptor (AGER) belongs to the
immunoglobulin superfamily, and currently, is the only innate immune
pattern-recognition receptor whose abnormal expression has been detected in
lung cancer. We aimed to explore the
lncRNA that is related to AGER and test its effect on lung
carcinogenesis. We selected one
lncRNA whose chromosome location is in close proximity to AGER namely lnc-AGER-1 (defined as lncAGER). The expression of lncAGER was tested in 276 pairs of
lung cancer tissues and adjacent lung normal tissues, and its correlation with
lung cancer clinical progress was analyzed. A series of assays were further used to assess the biological function of lncAGER on
lung cancer development,
tumor immunity and autophagy. LncAGER expression was moderately correlated with AGER expression (r = 0.360, P = 2.15 × 10-18 ) underlying a mechanism that lncAGER upregulates AGER by competitively binding to miRNA-185. LncAGER was significantly down-regulated in 76.4% of
lung cancer tissues compared to adjacent normal tissues due to promoter hypermethylation. Over-expression of the
lncRNA resulted in significant decreases in proliferation rate, migration ability, colony formation efficiency of
lung cancer cells and
tumor growth in nude mice. Notably, lncAGER possibly conduced to enhancement of cytotoxic effect of THP1. Additionally, the
lncRNA also promoted cell apoptosis by strengthening autophagy. Taken together, these observations suggest that lncAGER has an inhibitory effect on
lung cancer development via AGER, which may serve as a target for
lung cancer treatment.