Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a large class of RNAs that have previously been identified to be involved in certain diseases, including the development of cancer. However, the role of circ_001569 in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains unknown. In the present study, it was demonstrated that expression levels of circ_001569 were significantly increased in NSCLC tissues compared with in adjacent normal tissues. Increased circ_001569 expression was closely associated with tumor differentiation, lymph node metastasis and Tumor-Node-Metastasis classification in NSCLC. Patients that exhibited higher circ_001569 expression demonstrated a poorer survival outcome compared with patients with lower circ_001569 expression. Functional assay results indicated that the knockdown of circ_001569 inhibited the cell proliferation ability of NSCLC in vitro. In addition, it was identified that circ_001569 knockdown reduced the mRNA and protein expression levels of Wnt/β-catenin pathway-associated genes proto-oncogene protein Wnt1, transcription factor 4 and β-catenin in NSCLC cells. Therefore, the results indicated that circ_001569 promoted cell proliferation by regulating the Wnt/β-catenin pathway in NSCLC, and circ_001569 may be a potential target of NSCLC treatment.
Keywords: Wnt/β-catenin pathway; cell proliferation; circ_001569; circular RNA; prognosis.