Research Paper Volume 12, Issue 14 pp 14080—14091
CircRNA FGFR3 induces epithelial-mesenchymal transition of ovarian cancer by regulating miR-29a-3p/E2F1 axis
- 1 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The Forth Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang 330000, Jiangxi, P.R. China
- 2 Xiangya Medical College, Central South University, Hunan 410008, P.R. China
- 3 Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang 330000, P.R. China
Received: November 25, 2019 Accepted: May 20, 2020 Published: July 15, 2020
https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.103388How to Cite
Abstract
Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a class of non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression after transcription. However, the specific function of circRNAs in ovarian cancer remains undetermined. Previous studies have demonstrated abnormal expression of circFGFR3 in several cancers. The present study was designed to reveal the roles of circFGFR3 in ovarian cancer (OC). CircFGFR3 expression in OC tissues and cells was detected by RT-qPCR. The effects of CircFGFR3 on OC cells were evaluated by transwell assay and CCK-8 assay. Finally, the underlying mechanism was further revealed by luciferase reporter assay and western blotting. Our results showed that circFGFR3 expression was higher in OC cells and tissues than in normal ovarian cells and adjacent normal tissues; in addition, in OC patients, a high level of CircFGFR3 was related to lower survival rates and higher recurrence rates than a low level of circFGFR3. CircFGFR3 overexpression promotes OC progression by inducing epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in vitro. Mechanistically, circFGFR3 upregulates E2F1 expression by sponging miR-29a-3p, and the overexpression of E2F1 or the suppression of miR-29a-3p induces OC cell EMT. Therefore, circFGFR3 serves as a promoter of OC by inducing OC cell EMT via the miR-29a-3p/E2F1 axis and circFGFR3 may be a prognostic biomarker for OC patients.
Abbreviations