Circular RNA KIF4A promotes cell migration, invasion and inhibits apoptosis through miR-152/ZEB1 axis in breast cancer

Abstract

Abstract Background Circular RNAs (circRNAs) have been demonstrated to exert crucial mediators in tumor initiation and development. Nevertheless, the roles of circKIF4A in breast cancer (BC) are still not very clear. Methods Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was conducted to determine the expression of circKIF4A, miR-152, zinc finger E-box binding homeobox 1 (ZEB1) mRNA and caspase-3. Western blot assay was utilized to examine the protein level of ZEB1. Transwell assay and flow-cytometric analysis were adopted for the evaluation of cell migration, invasion and apoptosis, respectively. The associations among circKIF4A, miR-152 and ZEB1 were predicted by online websites and verified by dual-luciferase reporter assay and RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) assay. Results CircKIF4A and ZEB1 were conspicuously upregulated and miR-152 was markedly reduced in BC tissues and cells. Deficiency of circKIF4A repressed migration, invasion and induced apoptosis of BC cells. Moreover, circKIF4A was confirmed to be a sponge of miR-152 and miR-152 could bind to ZEB1. MiR-152 inhibition or ZEB1 overexpression abolished the impacts of circKIF4A knockdown on cell migration, invasion and apoptosis in BC. Conclusion Silencing of circKIF4A hampered cell metastasis and promoted apoptosis by regulating ZEB1 via sponging miR-152 in BC.

Keywords

• Breast cancer
• circKIF4A
• miR-152
• ZEB1