Circular RNA circGSE1 Promotes Cervical Cancer Progression Through miR-138-5p/Vimentin
Suzhen Fan, Shujun Zhao, Xiang Gao, Qiaohong Qin, Yan Guo, Zhongfu Yuan, Min Zhang, Qing Liu, Hongyu Li
Abstract
BACKGROUND: A growing number of studies have identified that circular RNAs (circRNAs) play a vital role in the progression of various tumors. However, the underlying functions and mechanisms of circRNAs in cervical cancer have not been clarified. METHODS: in cervical cancer tissues and matched normal tissues. In vitro cell wound healing, transwell migration and invasion assays were employed to assess the effects of circGSE1 on cell mobility. The pull-down, luciferase reporter, RIP and rescue assays were performed to evaluate the interaction between circGSE1and miR-138-5p and the regulation of miR-138-5p on Vimentin. RESULTS: was positively correlated with tumor differentiation, FIGUREO stage, depth of stromal invasion, lymph node metastasis and infiltration of parauterine organ. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that high circGSE1 predicted worse overall survival and disease-free survival. Down-regulated circGSE1 evidently inhibited cell migration and metastasis of cervical cancer, while up-regulated circGSE1 significantly promoted cell migration and metastasis. The pull-down, luciferase reporter and RIP assays revealed that circGSE1 directly bound to and sponge miR-138-5p. MiR-138-5p inhibited the expression of Vimentin through directly binding to 3'UTR of Vimentin mRNA. In addition, miR-138-5p suppressed cell migration and invasion through inhibiting Vimentin expression, and circGSE1 promoted cell migration and invasion through sponging miR-138-5p and enhancing Vimentin expression. CONCLUSION: CircGSE1 promotes the progression and may act as a novel diagnostic biomarker for disease progression of cervical cancer.