Hsa_circ_0043278 Inhibits Tumorigenesis and is Downregulated in Colorectal Cancer.

PURPOSE

Circular RNAs are novel endogenous RNAs, which are considered to play a role in tumorigenesis. Nevertheless, the role as well as clinical diagnostic value of most circular RNAs in colorectal cancer are still unclear.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We investigated the circular RNA microarray containing expression profiles in samples of colorectal cancer patients by bioinformatics. The consequence indicated that hsa_circ_0043278 was strongly downregulated. We then measured the expression level of hsa_circ_0043278 in tissue samples of colorectal cancer by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Besides, we also explored the expression condition of the circular RNA in colorectal cancer cell lines including HCT116, SW620, and SW480. Cell counting kit-8, colony formation, and transwell assays, as well as flow cytometry, were applied to detect changes in cell proliferation, migration, apoptosis, and cell cycle progression.

RESULTS

We discovered that circular RNA hsa_circ_0043278 was significantly downregulated in tumor samples ( < 0.0001) as well as cell lines ( < 0.05). The value of the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.71, with a sensitivity of 0.72 and specificity of 0.70 ( = 0.0006). Moreover, we found that overexpression of hsa_circ_0043278 suppressed proliferation and migratory abilities while promoting apoptosis in colorectal cancer cells.

CONCLUSION

Our findings revealed that hsa_circ_0043278 inhibited the tumorigenesis of colorectal cancer and could be a potential biomarker for colorectal cancer diagnosis. Besides, it hopes to become a target for treatment.