Circular RNA (circRNA) has been shown to participate in various tumors, including lung cancer. In the present study, we explored the expression and functional relevance of hsa_circ_0003288 in human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We verified that hsa_circ_0003288 expression was upregulated in lung cancer tissues and cell lines. Overexpression of hsa_circ_0003288 dramatically promoted lung cancer cell proliferation, colony formation, inhibited apoptosis, and increased cell migration and invasion in vitro. Xenograft experiments showed that hsa_circ_0003288 overexpression accelerated tumor growth in vivo. Mechanistically, hsa_circ_0003288 negatively regulated miR-145 to exert the oncogenic role in lung cancer. Overexpression of miR-145 decreased cell proliferation, induced apoptosis, and suppressed migration and invasion in lung cancer. Additionally, miR-145 co-transfection abolished the oncogenic role of hsa_circ_0003288. Collectively, these findings identified a novel regulatory role of hsa_circ_0003288/miR-145 axis in the progression of NSCLC.
Keywords: Non-small cell lung cancer; hsa_circ_0003288; miR-145.