CircPUM1 promotes hepatocellular carcinoma progression through the miR‐1208/MAP3K2 axis

• Published in: Journal of cellular and molecular medicine Vol. 25; no. 1; pp. 600 - 612
• Main Authors: Zhang, Yaqiong, Wang, Dongguo, Zhu, Tao, Yu, Jin, Wu, Xiaoyu, Lin, Weidong, Zhu, Minqi, Dai, Yingjie, Zhu, Jie
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.01.2021; John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subjects: Animals; Blotting, Western; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular - genetics; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular - metabolism; Cell proliferation; circPUM1; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic - genetics; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic - physiology; Hepatocellular carcinoma; Liver cancer; Liver Neoplasms - genetics; Liver Neoplasms - metabolism; MAP Kinase Kinase Kinase 2 - genetics; MAP Kinase Kinase Kinase 2 - metabolism; MAP3K2; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Mice, Nude; MicroRNAs; MicroRNAs - genetics; MicroRNAs - metabolism; miR‐1208; Original; Ovarian cancer; Plasmids; RNA-Binding Proteins - genetics; RNA-Binding Proteins - metabolism; Therapeutic targets; Tumors; United States > US; China; MAP3K2; circPUM1; miR-1208; hepatocellular carcinoma
• ISSN: 1582-1838; 1582-4934
• DOI: 10.1111/jcmm.15998

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common disease with a significant mortality, and there is no effective treatment for advanced patients. Growing evidence indicates that circRNAs are closely related to HCC progression, may be used as biomarkers and targets for the diagnosis and treatment of HCC. Recent researches have shown that circPUM1 may play an oncogene role in a variety of human cancers, but its role in HCC development has not been reported. Our study found that circPUM1 could promote the proliferation, migration and invasion of HCC cells in vitro. In addition, in vivo studies showed that circPUM1 could increase the development of HCC tumours and regulate the expression of EMT‐related proteins. Furthermore, we demonstrated that circPUM1 could promote the development of HCC by up‐regulating the expression of MAP3K2 via sponging miR‐1208. Our study suggested that circPUM1 may be a potential therapeutic target for HCC.