The circular RNA circSLC7A11 functions as a mir-330-3p sponge to accelerate hepatocellular carcinoma progression by regulating cyclin-dependent kinase 1 expression

作者：Yu Huang, Wenhao Ge, Yuan Ding, Lufei Zhang, Jiarong Zhou, Yang Kong, Bijun Cui, Bingqiang Gao, Xiaohui Qian, Weilin Wang · 发表于：Cancer Cell International · 年份：2021 · DOI：10.1186/s12935-021-02351-7 · 被引用次数：11 · 研究领域：Circular RNAs in diseases、MicroRNA in disease regulation、Cancer-related molecular mechanisms research

BACKGROUND: Circular RNAs (circRNAs), which are endogenous non-coding RNAs, are associated with various biological processes including development, homeostatic maintenance, and pathological responses. Accumulating evidence has implicated non-coding RNAs in cancer progression, and the role of circRNAs in particular has drawn wide attention. However, circRNA expression patterns and functions in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain poorly understood. METHODS: CircRNA sequencing was performed to screen differentially expressed circRNAs in HCC. Northern blotting, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, nucleocytoplasmic fractionation, and fluorescence in situ hybridization analyses were conducted to evaluate the expression and localization of circSLC7A11 in HCC tissues and cells. CircSLC7A11 expression levels were modified in cultured HCC cell lines to explore the association between the expression of circSLC7A11 and the malignant behavior of these cells using several cell-based assays. The modified cells were implanted into immunocompetent nude mice to assess tumor growth and metastasis in vivo. We applied bioinformatics methods, RNA pulldown, RNA immunoprecipitation, and luciferase reporter assays to explore the mechanisms of circSLC7A11 in HCC. RESULTS: CircSLC7A11 (hsa_circ_0070975) was conserved and dramatically overexpressed in HCC tissues and cells. HCC patients showing high circSLC7A11 expression had worse prognoses. Our in vitro and in vivo experiments showed t...