1. Circular RNA AKT3 governs malignant behaviors of esophageal cancer cells by sponging miR-17-5p.
- Author
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Zang HL, Ji FJ, Ju HY, and Tian XF
- Subjects
- Animals, Cell Line, Tumor, Cell Proliferation, Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic, Mice, Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt, RNA, Circular, Esophageal Neoplasms genetics, MicroRNAs genetics
- Abstract
Background: Recent studies have demonstrated that circular RNA AKT3 (circAKT3) plays a crucial role in regulating the malignant phenotypes of tumor cells. However, the potential effects of circAKT3 on esophageal cancer have not been investigated., Aim: To illuminate the role of circAKT3 in malignant behaviors of esophageal cancer cells and its underlying mechanism., Methods: Clinical samples were collected to detect the expression of circAKT3 . The role of circAKT3 in proliferation, migration, invasion, and apoptosis of esophageal cancer cells was evaluated using Cell Counting Kit-8, wound healing assays, Transwell assays, and fluorescence analysis, respectively. The target of circAKT3 was screened and identified using an online database and luciferase reporter assay. A xenograft nude mouse model was established to investigate the role of circAKT3 in vivo ., Results: In vitro assays showed that proliferative, migratory, and invasive capacities of esophageal cancer cells were significantly enhanced by circAKT3 overexpression. Furthermore, miR-17-5p was screened as the target of circAKT3, and miR-17-5p antagonized the effects of circAKT3 on esophageal cancer cells. Moreover, we identified RHOC and STAT3 as the direct target molecules of miR-17-5p, and circAKT3 facilitated expression of RHOC and STAT3 by inhibiting miR-17-5p. In vivo assays showed circAKT3 knockdown inhibited growth of esophageal cancer., Conclusion: CircAKT3 contributed to the malignant behaviors of esophageal cancer in vitro and in vivo by sponging miR-17-5p thus providing a potential target for treatment of esophageal cancer., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors have no conflict of interest related to the manuscript., (©The Author(s) 2021. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.)
- Published
- 2021
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