Circular RNA hsa_circ_0001588 promotes the malignant progression of lung adenocarcinoma by modulating miR-524-3p/NACC1 signaling.

AIMS

Previous studies have demonstrated that circular RNAs play significant roles in several tumors, including lung adenocarcinoma; however, specific biological functions and molecular mechanisms underlying this process remain unclear.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Here, we conducted real-time quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) to measure hsa_circ_0001588 expression levels in 60 paired lung adenocarcinoma tissues and cell lines. Furthermore, the association between hsa_circ_0001588 and clinical features of lung adenocarcinoma was analyzed. Functional experiments were conducted to assess the influence of hsa_circ_0001588 on proliferation, migration, and invasion in lung adenocarcinoma cells. We detected possible downstream targets of hsa_circ_0001588 using bioinformatics analysis. Luciferase reporter assays, qRT-PCR, and western blotting assays were performed to verify the molecular mechanism underlying hsa_circ_0001588 functions.

KEY FINDINGS

We found that hsa_circ_0001588 was prominently upregulated in lung adenocarcinoma tissues and cell lines; elevated expression of hsa_circ_0001588 was positively correlated with poor clinicopathological features of lung adenocarcinoma. Functional experiments revealed that hsa_circ_0001588 acts as an oncogene to promote the proliferation, migration, and invasion of lung adenocarcinoma in vitro. Mechanistically, hsa_circ_0001588 promoted the proliferation, migration, and metastasis of lung adenocarcinoma by binding to miR-524-3p to promote nucleus accumbens-associated protein 1(NACC1) expression.

SIGNIFICANCE

Together, our results revealed that hsa_circ_0001588 upregulated the expression of NACC1 by combining with miR-524-3p to promote the proliferation, migration, and invasion of lung adenocarcinoma cells, suggesting that hsa_circ_0001588 may be an underlying therapeutic target for lung adenocarcinoma.