Zhongliu Fangzhi Yanjiu (Nov 2019)
CircHIPK3 Affects Malignant Phenotypes in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma by Regulating p53-Akt-Mdm2 Signaling Pathways
Abstract
Objective To investigate CircHIPK3 expression in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) tissues, so as to find a new way of diagnosis and targeted therapy. Methods qRT-PCR, CCK-8, Transwell and flow cytometry were performed to detect the difference of CircHIPK3 expression in tumor tissues and adjacent normal tissues, and its effect on cell proliferation, invasion, migration and apoptosis, respectively. Bioinformatics analysis was used to determine the possible pathway of CircHIPK3, and Western blot was used to verify its pathway-related functional proteins. Results qRT-PCR results showed the abnormal expression of CircHIPK3 in 11 cases of cancer tissues and 7 cases of paracancerous tissues (P=0.027). The high expression of CircHIPK3 increased cell proliferation (P < 0.001), migration (P < 0.001) and invasion (P < 0.001) abilities. CircHIPK3 overexpression inhibited the apoptosis of EC9706 cells and tumor suppressor gene p53, activated intracellular Akt-Mdm2 signaling pathway, and increased the expression of p53-Akt-Mdm2 pathway protein accordingly. Ultimately, cancer cell proliferation, migration, invasion and cancer protein expression were enhanced. Conclusion CircHIPK3 promotes the proliferation, migration and invasion of human esophageal cancer cells, and inhibits the apoptosis by regulating the p53-Akt-Mdm2 signaling pathway. CircHIPK3 may be a potential target for the diagnosis and treatment of esophageal cancer.
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