The involvement of the circFOXM1-miR-432-Gα12 axis in glioma cell proliferation and aggressiveness

Yong Gong; Shuai Zhang; HongXin Wang; Yunfeng Huang; Xing Fu; Peng Xiang; Tianyu Fan

doi:10.1038/s41420-021-00782-9

The involvement of the circFOXM1-miR-432-Gα12 axis in glioma cell proliferation and aggressiveness

Cell Death Discov. 2022 Jan 10;8(1):9. doi: 10.1038/s41420-021-00782-9.

Authors

Yong Gong^#¹, Shuai Zhang^#¹, HongXin Wang¹, Yunfeng Huang¹, Xing Fu¹, Peng Xiang¹, Tianyu Fan²

Affiliations

¹ The Affiliated Changsha Central Hospital,Department of Neurosurgery, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, No.161, Shaoshan South Road, Changsha, Hunan, 410004, China.
² The Affiliated Changsha Central Hospital,Department of Neurosurgery, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, No.161, Shaoshan South Road, Changsha, Hunan, 410004, China. fantianyu2002@st.btbu.edu.cn.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Accumulating evidence indicates that circFOXM1 (Hsa_circ_0025033) is highly expressed in several cancers; however, the function of circFOXM1 in glioma and the molecular mechanism have not been well explored. In the present study, we found that expression of circFOXM1 was upregulated in both glioma tissues and cell lines. In addition, circFOXM1 knockdown suppressed glioma-cell proliferation, activated apoptosis in vitro, and repressed tumour growth in vivo. Moreover, we clarified that circFOXM1 binds with miR-432, which was downregulated in glioma cells. Furthermore, we indicated that Gα12, a direct target of miR-432, was highly expressed in glioma cells, and Gα12 silencing might limit the progression of glioma. Rescue assays indicated that Gα12 reversed the inhibitory effect of circFOXM1 silencing on glioma-cell tumorigenesis. In conclusion, circFOXM1 acts as a sponge of miR-432 to promote the proliferation and aggressiveness of glioma cells through the Gα12 signalling pathway.