• • UCA1 is upregulated in DDP-resistant cervical cancer tissues and HeLa cells; its knockdown suppresses proliferation, migration, and invasion while increasing apoptosis, establishing UCA1 as a functional driver of the resistant phenotype.
• • UCA1 acts as a ceRNA for miR-195-5p, targeting IKBKB; this axis upregulates p-p65 and BNIP3Δex2 and downregulates BNIP3, linking lncRNA-mediated NF-κB activation to apoptotic evasion.
• • In subcutaneous xenografts, UCA1 silencing inhibits tumor growth, enhances apoptosis, and upregulates IKBKB, BNIP3Δex2, and p-p65 while downregulating BNIP3, confirming in vivo target engagement.
• • The study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 82160351) and Guizhou provincial grants, with no conflicts of interest declared, supporting translational credibility.