circNUDT21 promotes bladder cancer progression by modulating the miR-16-1-3p/MDM2/p53 axis

Liang Chen; Wencheng Li; Zhiqin Li; Yarong Song; Jun Zhao; Zhaohui Chen; Gallina Kazobinka; Lulu Li; Yifei Xing; Teng Hou

doi:10.1016/j.omtn.2021.08.032

circNUDT21 promotes bladder cancer progression by modulating the miR-16-1-3p/MDM2/p53 axis

Mol Ther Nucleic Acids. 2021 Sep 6:26:625-636. doi: 10.1016/j.omtn.2021.08.032. eCollection 2021 Dec 3.

Authors

Liang Chen¹, Wencheng Li¹, Zhiqin Li², Yarong Song¹, Jun Zhao¹, Zhaohui Chen¹, Gallina Kazobinka^{1

3}, Lulu Li⁴, Yifei Xing¹, Teng Hou¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Urology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, HB 430022, China.
² Department of Pharmacy, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China.
³ Urology Unit, La Nouvelle Polyclinique Centrale de Bujumbura, Bujumbura 378, Burundi.
⁴ Reproductive Medicine Center, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China.

Abstract

Bladder cancer (BC) is a common genitourinary malignancy. This study investigated the regulatory effects of an exonic circRNA, circNUDT21, in the progression of BC. The circNUDT21 level was overexpressed in BC tissues and cell lines as compared to normal controls. Overexpression and silencing of circNUDT21 promoted and inhibited, respectively, the proliferative and invasive abilities of BC cells. Mechanistical analysis showed that circNUDT21 acted as a miR-16-1-3p sponge and that MDM2 was a potential downstream target of miR-16-1-3p. We further verified that overexpression of circNUDT21 was associated with elevated MDM2 and reduced p53 expression. CircNUDT21 promoted BC progression by acting as a sponge of miR-16-1-3p to activate the miR-16-1-3p/MDM2/p53 axis. These findings suggest that circNUDT21 functions as an oncogenic circRNA and may be a potential therapy target for BC.

Keywords: MDM2; NUDT21; bladder cancer; circNUDT21; p53; progression.