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Knockdown of hsa_circ_0001964 inhibits hepatocellular carcinoma cell proliferation by inactivating PI3K/AKT signaling pathway

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Abstract

Background

Circular RNAs (CircRNAs) play vital roles in the pathogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the exact role and detailed mechanism of hsa_circ_0001964 during HCC carcinogenesis remains unknown.

Objective

To explore the expression, role and mechanism of hsa_circ_0001964 in HCC.

Result

The results indicated that the mRNA expression of hsa_circ_0001964 was upregulated in HCC cell lines and tissues, respectively, and hsa_circ_0001964 knockdown inhibited HCC cell proliferation in vitro. Western blot analysis showed that hsa_circ_0001964 knockdown suppressed the activation of the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway and its downstream factors (including c-Jun, c-Myc, and CCND1).

Conclusion

The results of the present study suggested that hsa_circ_0001964 may correlate with HBV infection, and it promotes HCC carcinogenesis via the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. The findings of the present study provide important insights into the molecular mechanisms of HCC initiation, which may help to develop new treatment strategies against HCC.

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Availability of data and materials

The datasets generate and analyzed in this study are not publicly available for the reason of protecting patients’ privacy, but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We should thank PSY, JY and LXC for their preparing the HCC and paratumor tissues.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. General Surgery Fifth Branch, Hunan Provincial People’s Hospital (The First Affiliated Hospital of Hunan Normal University), Changsha, Hunan, China

    Liao Li, Shayong Peng, Yu Jiang & Xinchun Lu

  2. Neurosurgery Second Branch, Hunan Provincial People’s Hospital (The First Affiliated Hospital of Hunan Normal University), Changsha, Hunan, China

    Changfeng Miao

Authors
  1. Liao Li
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  2. Changfeng Miao
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  3. Shayong Peng
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  4. Yu Jiang
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  5. Xinchun Lu
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Contributions

LL performed the experiments and writed the original draft, PSY, JY and LXC involved in the experiments, collected the tissues and provided the funding acquisition, PSY participated in the experiments and dealed the data with software, MCF conceived, designed and supervised the experiments. All of the authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Changfeng Miao.

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Conflict of interest

Liao Li declares that she has no conflict of interest. Changfeng Miao declares that he has no conflict of interest. Shayong Peng declares that he has no conflict of interest. Yu Jiang declares that she has no conflict of interest. Xinchun Lu declares that he has no conflict of interest.

Ethics approval

The Ethics Committee of Hunan Provincial People’s Hospital agreed with the experimental and study protocols of the present study. All of the procedures performed in the present study were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Written informed consent was agreed and signed by all of the HCC patients prior to operation.

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Li, L., Miao, C., Peng, S. et al. Knockdown of hsa_circ_0001964 inhibits hepatocellular carcinoma cell proliferation by inactivating PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. Mol. Cell. Toxicol. 18, 185–191 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13273-021-00185-y

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