Abstract
Circular RNAs (circRNAs) play an extremely important regulatory role in the occurrence and development of various malignant tumors including papillary thyroid cancer (PTC). circFAT1(e2) is a new type of circRNA derived from exon 2 of the FAT1 gene, which is distributed in the cytoplasm and nucleus of PTC cells. However, so far, the role of circFAT1(e2) in PTC is still unclear. In this study, circFAT1(e2) was found to be highly expressed in PTC cell lines and tissues. circFAT1(e2) knockdown suppressed PTC cell growth, migration, and invasion. Also, circFAT1(e2) acted as a sponge for potential microRNAs (miRNAs) to modulate cancer progression. A potential miRNA target was discovered to be miR-873 which was targeted by circFAT1(e2) in PTC. The dual-luciferase assay conducted later also confirmed that there was indeed a direct interaction between circFAT1(e2) and miR-873. This study also confirmed that circFAT1(e2) inhibited the miR-873 expression and thus promoted the ZEB1 expression, thus affecting the proliferation, metastasis, and invasion of PTC cells. In conclusion, the results of this study indicated that circFAT1(e2) played a carcinogenic role by targeting the miR-873/ZEB1 axis to promote PTC invasion and metastasis, which might become a potential novel target for therapy of PTC.
Highlights
Circular RNA is a special type of alternative splicing that produces a and covalently closed-loop structural RNA [1]
Studies have shown that the binding of circRNA UBAP2 to miR-143 can abolish the inhibition of Bcl-2 and the caspase apoptosis pathway [6]
CircFAT1(e2) knockdown inhibited some physiological functions of papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) cells
Summary
Circular RNA (circRNA) is a special type of alternative splicing (called reverse splicing) that produces a and covalently closed-loop structural RNA [1]. Several studies have shown that circRNAs are differentially expressed in various diseases [2], including cancer, atherosclerotic vascular diseases, and neurological diseases. This may suggest that circRNA could play a potential regulatory role in the progression of some diseases [3]. CircRNA circZFR promotes the expression of C8orf by acting as a sponge on miR-1261 and facilitates the growth of PTC cells [15]. 102171 regulates CTNNBIP1-dependent activation through the β-catenin pathway to promote PTC progression [16]. CircRNA circ-ITCH inhibits the progression of PTC via the miR-22-3p/CBL/β-catenin pathway. Studies have shown that circFAT1(e2) is reduced in tissues and cell lines in gastric cancer (GC). We focused on the role of circFAT1(e2) in PTC, and this finding might promote the prognosis and treatment of PTC
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