The dual-luciferase assay was designed based on the binding sites of miR-140-3p and SNHG12 in the database (Fig. 4A), which exhibited that there was a binding relationship between miR-140-3p and SNHG12 in GC cells (P < 0.01, Fig. 4B). The gene discussed is SNHG12; the disease is gastric cancer.