Introduction: Emerging evidence has demonstrated that circRNAs are implicated in the progression of cervical cancer (CC). However, the roles and underlying mechanisms of circRNAs remain unclear in CC.
Methods: QRT-PCR was performed to detect hsa_circ_0008285 expression in CC tissues and cell lines. The roles of hsa_circ_0008285 on CC progression were explored by function assays. Next, the underlying mechanisms of hsa_circ_0008285 in CC progression were determined by bioinformatics analysis, dual-luciferase reporter and RIP assays.
Results: In the present study, we identified a new circRNA hsa_circ_0008285, which was significantly up-regulated in CC tissues and cell lines. Loss-of-function assays showed that hsa_circ_0008285 suppression reduced the proliferation and invasion of CC cells in vitro and reduced tumor growth in vivo. In mechanism, bioinformatics analysis, dual-luciferase reporter and RIP assays showed that hsa_circ_0008285 served as a sponge for miR-211-5p in CC. Next, we confirmed that SOX4 served as a target gene for miR-211-5p in CC. Additionally, we revealed that miR-211-5p inhibitors abolished the effects of hsa_circ_0008285 on SOX4 expression in CC cells.
Conclusion: Therefore, our research highlighted that hsa_circ_0008285 promoted CC progression via serving as a ceRNA of miR-211-5p to release SOX4, which might provide a potential therapeutic target for tumor treatment.
Keywords: cervical cancer, hsa_circ_0008285, miR-211-5p, SOX4, ceRNA