CircPSMC3 Inhibits Colorectal Cancer Cell Growth and Migration by Controlling miR-31-5p/YAP/β-Catenin

Abstract

Introduction: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is hackneyed cancer and a major lethiferous cancer. Circular RNAs (CircRNAs) have been discovered to own important roles in controlling CRC progression. CircPSMC3 is known to exhibit lower expression in diversified cancers. However, the regulatory function of CircPSMC3 in CRC keeps unclear.

Methods: The expression of CircPSMC3 and miR-31-5p was confirmed through RT-qPCR. The cell proliferation was measured through CCK-8 and EdU assays. The protein expression of genes was examined through a western blot. The cell invasion and migration were tested through Transwell and wound healing assays. The binding ability between CircPSMC3 and miR-31-5p was confirmed through the luciferase reporter assay.

Results: CircPSMC3 exhibited lower expression in CRC tissues and cell lines. Additionally, CircPSMC3 was revealed to suppress cell proliferation in CRC. Moreover, through Transwell and wound healing assays, CircPSMC3 was discovered to repress CRC cell invasion and migration. In CRC tissues, miR-31-5p expression was up-regulated and negatively correlated with CircPSMC3 expression. Further mechanism exploration experiments disclosed that CircPSMC3 is bound with miR-31-5p to modulate the YAP/β-catenin axis in CRC. At last, through rescue assays, CircPSMC3 inhibited cell proliferation, invasion and migration through sponging miR-31-5p in CRC.

Conclusion: Our work was the first time to probe the potential regulatory effects of CircPSMC3 in CRC, and these above results uncovered that CircPSMC3 inhibited CRC cell growth and migration through regulating miR-31-5p/YAP/β-catenin. This discovery hinted that CircPSMC3 may serve as a useful therapeutic candidate for CRC.

Keywords: CircPSMC3; YAP/β-catenin; colorectal cancer; miR-31-5p; potential regulatory effects; tissues..