Circular hsa_circ_0020377 regulates KLF7 by targeting miR-194-5p to facilitate tumor cell malignant behaviors and glycolysis in oral squamous cell carcinoma progression.

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a common malignant tumor with high recurrence, metastasis rates, and poor prognosis. Numerous studies discover that circular RNA (circRNA) is closely associated with OSCC progression. Hsa_circ_0020377 has been aberrantly expressed in OSCC, but its role in tumor growth and metastasis remains largely unclear. Hsa_circ_0020377, microRNA-194-5p (miR-194-5p), and Krüppel-like factor 7 (KLF7) contents were determined by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Cell proliferative, cycle progression migration, and invasion were measured using 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine (EdU), Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), flow cytometry, wound healing, and Transwell assays. The glycolysis level was detected via specific kits. Cyclin D1, E-cadherin, hexokinase 2 (HK2), and KLF7 protein levels were detected via western blot. Using predicting bioinformatics software, the binding between miR-194-5p and hsa_circ_0020377 or KLF7 was verified using a dual-luciferase reporter and RNA Immunoprecipitation (RIP). Beyond that, a xenograft tumor model was used to analyze the role of hsa_circ_0020377 on tumor cell growth in vivo. Increased hsa_circ_0020377 and KLF7 and reduced miR-194-5p were found in OSCC tissues and cell lines. Loss-of-function experiments proved that hsa_circ_0020377 depletion might block OSCC cell proliferation, cycle progression, migration, invasion, and glycolysis in vitro. In xenograft mouse models, hsa_circ_0020377 silencing might suppress tumor growth. In addition, mechanism research suggested that hsa_circ_0020377 could bind with miR-194-5p and enhance its target gene (KLF7), thereby affecting OSCC development. These results broaden our insights regarding the regulation of OSCC progression via circRNA and act as a reference for future clinical studies in OSCC diagnosis and treatment.

Hei N ，Liu P ，Jin L ，Peng S ，Bao Y ... -  《-》

hsa_circ_0072387 Suppresses Proliferation, Metastasis, and Glycolysis of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Cells by Downregulating miR-503-5p.

Han L ，Cheng J ，Li A 《-》

Circ-PVT1/miR-106a-5p/HK2 axis regulates cell growth, metastasis and glycolytic metabolism of oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Zhu X ，Du J ，Gu Z 《-》

[Effect and mechanism of circular RNA BICD2 on the biological behavior of oral squamous cell carcinoma cells].

Zhang YJ ，Zhu QQ ，Zhou HX ，Wang HY ，Zhou H ... -  《-》

circ_0004872 inhibits proliferation, invasion, and glycolysis of oral squamous cell carcinoma by sponged miR-424-5p.

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is one of the most common oral malignant tumors. circ_0004872 can inhibit the progression of gastric cancer, but its effect on the growth and metastasis of OSCC is still unclear. qRT-PCR was used to detect the expression levels of circ_0004872 and miR-424-5p in cancer tissues of OSCC patients and adjacent normal tissues, OSCC cell lines, and human normal oral keratinocytes (HOK). CCK-8, cell colony formation, flow cytometry, and transwell assay were used to detect cell proliferation rate, viability, apoptosis rate, and invasion ability. Use glucose/lactic acid kit to assay cell glycolysis ability. The dual-luciferase reporter gene experiment and RIP experiment verified the relationship between circ_0004872 and miR-424-5p. The protein levels were examined by Western blot. The expression of circ_0004872 was significantly downregulated in OSCC tissues and cells, and the overexpression of circ_0004872 inhibited the proliferation, vitality, invasion, and glycolysis of OSCC cells, and promoted apoptosis. The expression of miR-424-5p was greatly upregulated in OSCC tissues and OSCC cells. circ_0004872 can adsorb miR-424-5p in OSCC cells, and circ_0004872 can reverse the promoting effect of miR-424-5p overexpression on the process of OSCC cells. circ_0004872 suppresses the proliferation, invasion, and glycolysis of OSCC cells by sponged miR-424-5p, and promotes apoptosis, which can be used as a potential target for early diagnosis and targeted therapy of OSCC.

Dai Y ，Zhu Y ，Xu H 《-》