Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a class of widely expressed noncoding RNA with significant regulatory potential discovered in recent years. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of hsa_circ_0001785 on the proliferation, migration and invasion of breast cancer (BC) cells in vivo and in vitro and the potential underlying molecular mechanism. In the present study, the expressions of hsa_circ_0001785 in five BC cells (T47D, MCF-7, MDA-MB-453, MDA-MB-231 and BT-549) and one normal breast cell (MCF-10A) were the first to examined by qRT-PCR. Then, we studied the biological function of hsa_circ_0001785 in BC by in vivo and in vitro experiments. CCK-8, clone formation, wound-healing and Transwell assays were performed to analyze the cellular proliferation, migration and invasion in vitro. The subcutaneous tumor model of nude mice was used for in vivo experiment. In addition, we determined that hsa_circ_0001785 acted as competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) in BC by RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) and dual-luciferase reporter assays. Results showed that the expressions of hsa_circ_0001785 were decreased in BC cells. Hsa_circ_0001785 overexpression inhibited the proliferation, migration, invasion of BC cells and tumor growth in nude mice. RIP and dual-luciferase reporter assay demonstrated that hsa_circ_0001785 could regulate the SOCS3 by sponging miR-942. In general, circular RNA hsa_circ_0001785 inhibits the proliferation, migration and invasion of BC cells by modulating the miR-942/SOCS3 signaling axis.
Keywords: Circular RNAs; breast cancer (BC); competing endogenous RNAs; hsa_circ_0001785; proliferation.