Circular RNA circCORO1C promotes laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma progression by modulating the let-7c-5p/PBX3 axis

Full description

Abstract Background Laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) is a common malignant tumor of the head and neck. LSCC patients have seriously impaired vocal, respiratory, and swallowing functions with poor prognosis. Circular RNA (circRNA) has attracted great attention in cancer research. However, the expression patterns and roles of circRNAs in LSCC remain largely unknown. Methods RNA sequencing was performed on 57 pairs of LSCC and matched adjacent normal mucosa tissues to construct circRNA, miRNA, and mRNA expression profiles. RT-PCR, qPCR, Sanger sequencing, and FISH were undertaken to study the expression, localization, and clinical significance of circCORO1C in LSCC tissues and cells. The functions of circCORO1C in LSCC were investigated by RNAi-mediated knockdown, proliferation analysis, EdU staining, colony formation assay, Transwell assay, and apoptosis analysis. The regulatory mechanisms among circCORO1C, let-7c-5p, and PBX3 were investigated by luciferase assay, RNA immunoprecipitation, western blotting, and immunohistochemistry. Results circCORO1C was highly expressed in LSCC tissues and cells, and this high expression was closely associated with the malignant progression and poor prognosis of LSCC. Knockdown of circCORO1C inhibited the proliferation, migration, invasion, and in vivo tumorigenesis of LSCC cells. Mechanistic studies revealed that circCORO1C competitively bound to let-7c-5p and prevented it from decreasing the level of PBX3, which promoted the epithelial–mesenchymal transition and finally facilitated the malignant progression of LSCC. Conclusions circCORO1C has an oncogenic role in LSCC progression and may serve as a novel target for LSCC therapy. circCORO1C expression has the potential to serve as a novel diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for LSCC detection.

Notes

External Organisations
First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University; Liaoning Medical University; Shanxi Medical University; Changzhi Medical College; Zhejiang University; Shenzhen University; Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences; Dalian Medical University; Shandong University

Associated Persons
Yuliang Zhang (Creator); Yu Zhang (Creator); Li Li (Creator); Wei Gao (Creator)Yongyan Wu (Creator); Xiwang Zheng (Creator); Fengsheng Dai (Creator); Yan Lu (Creator); Li Dai (Creator); Min Niu (Creator); Huina Guo (Creator); Wenqi Li (Creator); Xuting Xue (Creator); Yunfeng Bo (Creator); Yujia Guo (Creator); Jiangbo Qin (Creator); Yixiao Qin (Creator); Hongliang Liu (Creator); Tao Yang (Creator); Linshi Zhang (Creator); Shuxin Wen (Creator); Changming An (Creator); Huizheng Li (Creator); Wei Xu (Creator)