Enhanced expression of circular RNA hsa_circ_000984 promotes cells proliferation and metastasis in non-small cell lung cancer by modulating Wnt/β-catenin pathway

Objective:In recent years, several circular RNAs (circRNAs) have been identified to play important roles in human cancers. However, the exact effects and molecular mechanisms of circRNAs in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) progression are still unknown. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of circular hsa_circ_000984 on NSCLC.

Patients and methods:Quantitative real-time PCR was performed to detect the expression levels of hsa_circ_000984 in NSCLC tissues and cell lines. The associations between the expression of hsa_circ_000984 and clinicopathological parameters and patients' survival were analyzed. The cell growth was detected by CCK-8 assay and colony formation assay. Cell migration and invasion assays were used to study the changes in cell migration and invasion capacity. Western blot was performed to analyze the possible relationship between hsa_circ_000984 and the genes downstream of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway.

Results:We found that hsa_circ_000984 was highly expressed in NSCLC tissues and cell lines and correlated with advanced TNM stage and lymph nodes metastasis. The clinical assays indicated that patients with high hsa_circ_000984 expression had shorter overall survival and disease-free survival. The functional investigations showed that the knockdown of hsa_circ_000984 suppressed NSCLC cells proliferation, migration, invasion, and EMT. Moreover, hsa_circ_000984 displayed its oncogenic roles by modulating the activation of Wnt/β-catenin pathway, which was demonstrated by measuring the expression levels of, β-catenin, c-myc, and cyclin D1.

Conclusions:Our findings may facilitate a better understanding of hsa_circ_000984, and it might be a potential prognostic biomarker and treatment target for NSCLC patients.

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