Abstract: Objective  To investigate the effects of long non-coding RNA(lncRNA) ZEB1-AS1 on the proliferation and apoptosis of B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma(B-NHL), and to construct lncRNA, miRNA, mRNA-related competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNAs) network. Methods The Cox regression model was used to screen the lncRNAs related to the prognosis of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) in the GEO data set (GSE31312). Lentiviral transfection technology was used to establish the ZEB1-AS1 knockdown B-NHL cell model, and the CCK-8 and flow cytometry were used to detect the proliferation and apoptosis of B-NHL cells after treated with ZEB1-AS1 knockdown and different concentrations (50 ng/mL, 100 ng/mL, 200 ng/mL, 400 ng/mL) doxorubicin (Dox). The lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA ceRNA regulatory network was constructed with ZEB1-AS1 as the node, and GO, KEGG and PPI were used to analyze the core mRNA of related to the downstream of the regulatory network and its functions. Results A total of 20 high-risk lncRNAs were screened, and 4 miRNAs binding to ZEB1-AS1 and 1, 208 potential downstream mRNAs co-expressed with ZEB1-AS1 and combined with miRNAs were predicted, so as to construct the lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA regulatory network and the PPI regulatory network.In vitro experiments, knockdown of ZEB1-AS1 could significantly inhibit cell proliferation and promote cell apoptosis compared with the empty group (all P<0.05), and the combination of ZEB1-AS1 knockdown and Dox could synergistically inhibit the cell proliferation and promote the apoptosis. Conclusions ZEB1-AS1 knockdown can inhibit the proliferation and promote the apoptosis of B-NHL cells, enhancing the drug sensitivity of Dox.The ceRNA regulatory network constructed with ZEB1-AS1 as a node may be an important regulatory mechanism and diagnosis and treatment target for DLBCL.

Key words: B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, LncRNA, ZEB1-AS1, Proliferation, Apoptosis, ceRNA network