Conclusions
This study indicated that circRNA may play vital role in tumorigenesis and metastasis in OSCC.
Results
The results revealed that 1540 circRNAs were differentially expressed in 4 paired OSCC tissues and adjacent tissues significantly. Among them, 6 abundant circRNAs which have been reported in literatures were identified through RT-qPCR. According to the hypothesis of competing endogenous RNAs, 14 miRNAs sponged by the validated circRNAs and 62 downstream target protein coding genes were identified. Upon Gene Ontologyanalysis, 62 target genes were found to play roles in positively regulation of cell migration, cell division, angiogenesis and response to hypoxia. For Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathways, target genes were found to be involved in oncogenic signaling pathways (hsa05200), PI3K-Akt signaling pathway (hsa04151), focal adhesion (hsa04510), microRNAs in cancer (hsa05206), ECM-receptor interaction (hsa04512). These results suggested that circRNAs may participate in the tumorigenesis and development of OSCC via sponging miRNAs. Conclusions: This study indicated that circRNA may play vital role in tumorigenesis and metastasis in OSCC.