Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the second leading cause of cancer-related death in the worldwide. A great number of reports manifested that circular RNA hsa-circRNA-103809 (circRNA-103809) could work in several cancers.
Aims: This study aimed to explore the function and mechanism of circRNA-103809 in HCC.
Methods: Gene expressions were detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Colony formation, cell counting kit-8, transwell and wound healing assays were implemented to check the role of circRNA-103809 in HCC. Subcellular fractionation analysis was designed to figure out the cellular location of circRNA-103809. Luciferase reporter assay and RNA pull down assay were employed to verify the relationships among RNAs.
Results: CircRNA-103809 was highly expressed in HCC cell lines. After interfering circRNA-103809, the proliferation, migration, invasion and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition process were all hindered in HCC cells. Significantly, circRNA-103809 competed with PLAG1 like zinc finger 2 (PLAGL2) for binding with microRNA-1270 (miR-1270), which formulated a competing endogenous RNA network in HCC. Thereafter, we verified the tumor-facilitating effect of circRNA-103809/miR-1270/PLAGL2 axis on biological behaviors of HCC cells.
Conclusion: Hsa-circRNA-103809 promoted development of HCC via sequestering miR-1270 and up-regulating PLAGL2.
Keywords: CircRNA-103809; Hepatocellular carcinoma; MiR-1270; PLAGL2.