Circular RNA_0074027 participates in cell proliferation, apoptosis and metastasis of colorectal cancer cells through regulation of miR‑525‑3p

Abstract

The present study aimed to elucidate the biological function of circular RNAs (circRNA) 0074027 in colorectal cancer (CRC). The expression of circRNA‑0074027 in CRC tissues and cells was determined by reverse transcrip‑ tion‑quantitative PCR. The in vitro experiments, including Cell Counting Kit‑8 (CCK‑8) assay, 5‑Ethynyl‑2'‑deoxyuridine assay, flow cytometry and Transwell assay, were applied to evaluate cell proliferation, apoptosis and metastasis ability respectively following downregulation of circRNA‑0074027. The correlation between circRNA‑0074027 and micro (mi)RNA‑525‑3p was determined via dual‑luciferase reporter assay. Finally, western blotting was used to explore the possible regulatory mechanism. CircRNA‑0074027 was upregulated in CRC tissues, while miR‑525‑3p expression was reduced. In addition, patients with CRC and circRNA‑0074027 overexpression were more likely to have low tumor differ‑ entiation, lymph node metastasis and advanced TMN stage. Deletion of circRNA‑0074027 could suppress cell prolif‑ eration and metastasis through upregulating p53 expression and forbidding epithelial‑mesenchymal transition signaling pathway. The addition of miRNA‑525‑3p inhibitors could reverse the anti‑tumor effects induced by the deletion of circRNA‑0074027. The downregulation of cirRNA_0074027 inhibited tumor progression via sponging miR‑525‑3p, which could be a promising treatment bio‑marker for CRC.