Cell Death and Disease (Sep 2021)

Circular RNA hsa_circ_0043280 inhibits cervical cancer tumor growth and metastasis via miR-203a-3p/PAQR3 axis

  • Chunyu Zhang,
  • Pan Liu,
  • Jiaming Huang,
  • Yuandong Liao,
  • Chaoyun Pan,
  • Junxiu Liu,
  • Qiqiao Du,
  • Tianyu Liu,
  • Chunliang Shang,
  • Shiyin Ooi,
  • Run Chen,
  • Meng Xia,
  • Hongye Jiang,
  • Manman Xu,
  • Qiaojian Zou,
  • Yijia Zhou,
  • Hua Huang,
  • Yuwen Pan,
  • Li Yuan,
  • Wei Wang,
  • Shuzhong Yao

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41419-021-04193-7
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12, no. 10
pp. 1 – 13

Abstract

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Abstract Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are known to act as key regulators in a variety of malignancies. However, the role of circRNAs in cervical cancer (CCa) remains largely unknown. Herein, we demonstrated that a circRNA derived from the TADA2A gene (hsa_circ_0043280) was significantly downregulated in CCa and that this reduction in expression was correlated with a poor prognosis. Furthermore, our results demonstrated that hsa_circ_0043280 functions as a tumor suppressor to inhibit tumor growth and metastasis in CCa. Mechanistically, hsa_circ_0043280 competitively sponges miR-203a-3p and prevents miR-203a-3p from reducing the levels of PAQR3. Collectively, our results demonstrate that hsa_circ_0043280 plays a pivotal role in the development and metastasis of CCa, thus suggesting that hsa_circ_0043280 has significant potential as a prognostic biomarker and a therapeutic target for CCa.