Background: Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are involved in the development of human cancers, including cervical cancer (CC). However, the role and mechanism of the circRNA hsa_circ_0000285  (circ_0000285 ) in CC development remain largely unknown.
Methods: Thirty paired CC and adjacent normal tissue samples were harvested. CC cell lines SiHa and HeLa were cultured in this study. The expression of circ_0000285, miR197-3p  and ELK1 was detected via qRT-PCR or Western blot. CC development was assessed via cell viability, colony formation, apoptosis, cell cycle, and autophagy using MTT, colony-formation assays, flow cytometry and Western blot. The target association was analyzed via dual luciferase–reporter assay, RNA immunoprecipitation, and RNA pull-down. The role of circ_0000285  in CC in vivo was analyzed using a xenograft model.
Results: circ_0000285  abundance was enhanced in CC tissue and cells and mainly located in cytoplasm. Silence of circ_0000285  suppressed cell viability and colony formation, arrested the cell cycle at the G₀/G₁ phase, and induced apoptosis and autophagy in CC cells. miR197-3p  was targeted by circ_0000285 , and miR197-3p  knockdown reversed the effect of circ_0000285  silence on CC development. miR197-3p  directly targeted ELK1  to inhibit CC development. circ_0000285  regulated ELK1 by modulating miR197-3p . Knockdown of circ_0000285  reduced xenograft tumor growth in vivo.
Conclusion: Knockdown of circ_0000285  repressed CC development by increasing miR197-3p  and decreasing ELK1 .
Keywords: cervical cancer, circ_0000285 , miR197-3p , ELK1