Introduction:
The long non-coding RNA HULC has been shown to be involved in the development of several human cancers. The present study was undertaken to investigate the regulatory role of lncRNA-HULC in growth and metastasis of human glioma.

Material and methods:
The gene expression of lncRNA-HULC was estimated from the clinical glioma tissues and cell lines using RT-PCR. The proliferation of transfected cancer cells was determined with the help of cell counting kit-8 (CCK8). DAPI staining and dual annexin V-FITC/PI staining procedures were used for inferring the apoptosis of transfected cancer cells. Scratch-heal and transwell chamber assays were employed for the determination of migration and invasion of transfected cells. The expression of proteins of interest was studied by western blotting technique.

Results:
The results showed that lncRNA-HULC exhibits significantly (p < 0.05) higher expression in glioma tissues and cancer cells. The knockdown of lncRNA-HULC led to a marked decline in the proliferation of glioma cells through apoptotic induction which was accompanied by upregulation of Bax and downregulation of Bcl-2. Moreover, knockdown of lncRNA-HULC significantly (p < 0.05) suppressed the migration and invasion of cancer cells in vitro. The western blot analysis showed that lncRNA-HULC exerted its effects via modulation of the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.

Conclusions:
The study revealed the possibility of targeting the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway in glioma through transcriptional knockdown of lncRNA-HULC, which might be utilized for therapeutic purposes against human glioma.