Increased circular RNA UBAP2 acts as a sponge of miR-143 to promote osteosarcoma progression.

Abstract

Deregulated expression of circular RNA (circRNA) has been determined to be important in carcinogenesis and progression; however, in the most common type of primary malignant bone tumor osteosarcoma, the roles of circRNA in cancer development still remain to be elucidated. Here, we found that circRNA UBAP2 (circUBAP2) expression is significantly increased in human osteosarcoma tissues as compared to those in matched controls. Increased circUBAP2 expression was significantly correlated with human osteosarcoma progression and prognosis. Furthermore, increased circUBAP2 could promote osteosarcoma growth and inhibit apoptosis both in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, circUBAP2 was found to inhibit the expression of microRNA-143 (miR-143), thus enhancing the expression and function of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2, which is a direct target of miR-143. Together, our results suggest the roles of circUBAP2 in osteosarcoma development and implicate its potential in prognosis prediction and cancer therapy.

• Authors: Hao Zhang, Guangchao Wang, Chen Ding, Peng Liu, Renkai Wang, Wenbin Ding, Dake Tong, Dajiang Wu, Cheng Li, Qiang Wei, Xin Zhang, Di Li, Peizhao Liu, Haochen Cui, Hao Tang, Fang Ji
• Journal: Oncotarget (Oncotarget) Vol. 8 Issue 37 Pg. 61687-61697 (Sep 22 2017) ISSN: 1949-2553 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 28977896 (Publication Type: Journal Article)