Abstract
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a malignant cancer with an increasing incidence. Circular RNA (circRNA) is recently found to participate in the regulation of CRC progression. However, the role of circ_0007031 in CRC malignant progression remains elusive. 50 CRC patients were implicated in this study. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was performed to detect the RNA expression of circ_0007031, microRNA-485-3p (miR-485-3p) and maternal embryonic leucine zipper kinase (MELK). Western blot analysis was conducted to determine protein expression. Cell viability and proliferation were demonstrated by cell counting kit-8 and 5-Ethynyl-29-deoxyuridine (EdU) assays, respectively. Cell cycle and apoptosis were investigated by flow cytometry analysis. The interaction among circ_0007031, miR-485-3p and MELK was predicted by online databases, and identified by dual-luciferase reporter assay. Mouse model assay was conducted to reveal the effect of circ_0007031 on tumor formation in vivo. Circ_0007031 and MELK expression were obviously increased, while miR-485-3p expression was decreased in CRC tissues and cells compared with normal colorectal tissues or cells. Circ_0007031 knockdown repressed proliferation, whereas induced cell arrest at G0/G1 phase and apoptosis. On the opposite, circ_0007031 overexpression promoted cell proliferation and induced cell arrest at S phase. Additionally, miR-485-3p inhibitors attenuated circ_0007031 silencing-mediated CRC cell malignancy. MiR-485-3p was unveiled to regulate CRC cell processes via targeting MELK. Circ_0007031 controlled MELK expression via interacting with miR-485-3p. Furthermore, circ_0007031 contributed to tumor formation in vivo. Circ_0007031 knockdown repressed CRC malignant progression by reducing MELK expression through associating with miR-485-3p, suggesting that circ_0007031 was a potential target for the therapy of CRC.
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SS was responsible for drafting the manuscript. SS, WL, JL and LL contributed to the analysis and interpretation of data. SS, LL, XL, DY and ZY contributed in the data collection. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Su, S., Lu, W., Liu, J. et al. Circ_0007031 Silencing Inhibits Cell Proliferation and Induces Cell Apoptosis via Downregulating MELK at a miR-485-3p-Dependent Way in Colorectal Cancer. Biochem Genet 60, 576–597 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10528-021-10111-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10528-021-10111-5