Hsa_circ_0010023 promotes the development of papillary thyroid carcinoma by sponging miR-1250-5p.

BACKGROUND

Papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) is the most common thyroid tumor (TC). However, there is still a lack of effective indicators for PTC detection and prognosis. We intended to find a novel tumor marker for the progression of PTC.

METHODS

The expression of circRNAs was measured by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). SiRNA transfection was used to knockdown the expression of hsa_circ_0010023 in K1 cells. Cell proliferation was evaluated using cell counting and CCK8. Cell apoptosis was analyzed using flow cytometry. Hsa_circ_0010023 downstream pathways were predicted with bio-informatics analysis. The miR-1250-5p and MAPK1 were measured by qRT-PCR. The interaction between miR-1250-5p and hsa_circ_0010023 was vertified by dual-luciferase reporter assay.

RESULTS

Among the four circRNAs screened, only hsa_circ_0010023 and hsa_circ_0128482 were highly expressed in PTC (P < 0.05). The expression of hsa_circ_0010023 was significantly correlated with lymph node metastasis and extrathyroid infiltration (P < 0.05). Compared with the control group, the cell proliferation of the si-circ-0010023 group was significantly inhibited (P < 0.05). Knockdown of hsa_circ_0010023 promotes apoptosis of K1 cells (P < 0.001). The expression of hsa_circ_0010023 was negatively correlated with miR-1250-5p and positively correlated with MAPK1. MiR-1250-5p overexpression significantly reduced the luciferase activity of wild type plasmid (hsa_circ_0010023 WT), but not that of mutant type plasmid (hsa_circ_0010023 MUT).

CONCLUSION

The expression level of hsa_circ_0010023 was positive related to the progression of PTC, and hsa_circ_0010023 may promote PTC through sponging miR-1250-5p. Hsa_circ_0010023 may be a potential bio-marker for the diagnosis of PTC.