Upregulated circ_0005576 facilitates cervical cancer progression via the miR-153/KIF20A axis.

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a novel group of noncoding RNAs characterized by a covalently closed loop. An increasing evidence suggests that deregulated circRNAs exert their essential regulatory roles in oncogenesis. However, little is explored on the biological role of novel circRNAs in cervical cancer (CC) progression. In the present study, we analyzed two GSE microarrays to screen for CC-specific circRNAs and found two circRNAs both expressed in CC cells and tissues. Among them, circ_0005576 was significantly overexpressed in both CC tissues and cell lines. Furthermore, upregulated circ_0005576 was positively associated with advanced FIGO stage, lymph node metastasis, but was negatively related with overall survival of CC patients. Additionally, circ_0005576 knockdown induced a suppressed cell growth, colony formation and metastasis of HeLa and SiHa cells. Mechanistically, circ 0005576 was mainly located in the cytoplasm and served as a sponge of miR-153-3p to increase kinesin family member 20A (KIF20A) expression. Rescue assays further validated the effects of circ_0005576/miR-153-3p/KIF20A axis on CC proliferation, migration and invasion. In conclusion, our research reveals a novel circ_0005576/miR-153-3p/KIF20A axis promoting CC progression, which may suggest a new insight into the pathogenesis of CC.

Ma H ，Tian T ，Liu X ，Xia M ，Chen C ，Mai L ，Xie S ，Yu L ... -  《-》

Overexpressed circ_0067934 acts as an oncogene to facilitate cervical cancer progression via the miR-545/EIF3C axis.

Circular RNAs were recently identified as a novel type of noncoding RNAs. An increasing number of reports have demonstrated their essential regulatory roles in various biological processes and human diseases, including cancer. However, the role of circRNA in cervical cancer (CC) remains largely unknown. In the current study, we investigated the physiological functions of circ_0067934 during CC development and progression. We found that circ_0067934 was overexpressed in CC tissues and cell lines. Circ_0067934 upregulation was associated with advanced stage, lymph node metastasis, and poor prognosis in CC patients. Knockdown of circ_0067934 suppressed the proliferation, colony formation, migration, invasion, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition of CC cells in vitro. Circ_0067934 loss also inhibited CC tumor growth in vivo. Mechanistically, silencing circ_0067934 increased miR-545 expression. MiR-545 repressed EIF3C expression through targeting its 3'-untranslated region. MiR-545 suppressed the proliferation, migration, and invasion of CC cells, whereas restoration of EIF3C could rescue the effects of circ_0067934 knockdown. Taken together, our findings revealed that circ_0067934 promotes CC progression via miR-545/EIF3C axis. Our study may provide a new insight into the pathogenesis of CC.

Hu C ，Wang Y ，Li A ，Zhang J ，Xue F ，Zhu L ... -  《-》

Overexpression of circular RNA hsa_circ_0001038 promotes cervical cancer cell progression by acting as a ceRNA for miR-337-3p to regulate cyclin-M3 and metastasis-associated in colon cancer 1 expression.

Cervical cancer (CC) is a common cancer threatens women's health worldwide. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) is critically involved in carcinogenesis of various cancers. This work aimed to explore the expression pattern, functions and mechanisms of hsa_circ_0001038 in CC. RT-qPCR was performed to evaluate the levels of hsa_circ_0001038 in CC cell lines and tissues. Kaplan-Meier curves was applied to evaluate the overall survival rate of CC patients with high or low expression of hsa_circ_0001038. Fisher's exact test was analyzed to explore the relationship of hsa_circ_0001038 expression and CC patients' clinical features. Loss/Gain-of function assays were used to evaluate the role of hsa_circ_0001038 on the growth, apoptosis, migration and invasion of CC cell lines. The competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) mechanism was predicted by bioinformatics databases and verified by dual-luciferase reporter assay. We found that hsa_circ_0001038 was highly expressed in CC cells and tissues and elevated hsa_circ_0001038 was closely related to the clinical severity including lymph node invasion and myometrial invasion. In addition, overexpressed hsa_circ_0001038 correlated with unfavorable outcome in CC patients. Knockdown of hsa_circ_0001038 attenuated cell growth, migration, and invasion but induced cell apoptosis. Ectopic expression of hsa_circ_0001038 increased cell oncogenic properties. For mechanism investigation, hsa_circ_0001038 could sponge miR-337-3p to release its suppression on cyclin-M3 (CNNM3) and metastasis-associated in colon cancer 1 (MACC1), thereby promoting CC cell growth and invasive potential, respectively. In conclusion, hsa_circ_0001038 plays an oncogenic role in CC cells partly by activating CNNM3 and MACC1.

Wang Y ，Wang L ，Wang W ，Guo X ... -  《-》

Circular RNA circNFATC3 acts as a miR-9-5p sponge to promote cervical cancer development by upregulating SDC2.

Ma N ，Li X ，Wei H ，Zhang H ，Zhang S ... -  《-》

Circ_0000388 Exerts Oncogenic Function in Cervical Cancer Cells by Regulating miR-337-3p/TCF12 Axis.

Meng QH ，Li Y ，Kong C ，Gao XM ，Jiang XJ ... -  《-》