CircPRKCA facilitates esophageal squamous cell carcinoma metastasis via m5C-dependent CSF2 mRNA stabilization

作者：Lixia Wu, Lina Gu, Yang Zheng, Jingjing Liu, Zishuan Wei, Fei Liu, Jiali Li, Lingjiao Meng, Yang Sang, Meixiang Sang, Lianmei Zhao, Baoen Shan · 发表于：Journal of Translational Medicine · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1186/s12967-025-06395-5 · 被引用次数：11 · 研究领域：Circular RNAs in diseases、Cancer-related molecular mechanisms research、Ferroptosis and cancer prognosis

BACKGROUND: Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is a serious invasive malignancy with an ambiguous etiology. Evidence indicates that circular RNA (circRNA) is significantly involved in the regulatory processes associated with cancer development. Nevertheless, the specific molecular mechanisms through which circRNA facilitates the progression of ESCC are still largely undefined. METHODS: Here, we identified that the expression of hsa_circ_0007580 (designated circPRKCA) was markedly elevated in ESCC. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) was conducted to verify the expression, intracellular localization, and potential prognostic value of circPRKCA based on the tissue microarray. Gain- and loss-of-function assays were employed to investigate the effects of circPRKCA both in vitro and in vivo. RNA pull-down and mass spectrometry (MS) were performed to identify the proteins bound to circPRKCA. mRNA sequencing was conducted to screen the downstream target genes of circPRKCA. Furthermore, immunoprecipitation and methylated RNA immunoprecipitation (MeRIP) analysis were used to explore the regulatory mechanisms. RESULTS: We found that circPRKCA exhibited significant upregulation in ESCC tissues and correlated with unfavorable prognostic outcomes. Biological function experiments further confirmed that circPRKCA enhances the capabilities of migration, invasion, and angiogenesis in ESCC. Mechanistically, circPRKCA engages in interaction with Y-box binding protein 1 (YBX1) withi...