Abstract
Circular RNAs (circRNAs) have emerged as key regulators of cancer occurrence and progression, as well as promising biomarkers for cancer diagnosis and prognosis. However, the potential mechanisms of circRNAs implicated in lymph node (LN) metastasis of gastric cancer remain unclear. Herein, we identify a novel N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modified circRNA, circPAK2, which is significantly upregulated in gastric cancer tissues and metastatic LN tissues. Functionally, circPAK2 enhances the migration, invasion, lymphangiogenesis, angiogenesis, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and metastasis of gastric cancer in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, circPAK2 is exported by YTH domain-containing protein 1 (YTHDC1) from the nucleus to the cytoplasm in an m6A methylation-dependent manner. Moreover, increased cytoplasmic circPAK2 interacts with Insulin-Like Growth Factor 2 mRNA-Binding Proteins (IGF2BPs) and forms a circPAK2/IGF2BPs/VEGFA complex to stabilize VEGFA mRNA, which contributes to gastric cancer vasculature formation and aggressiveness. Clinically, high circPAK2 expression is positively associated with LN metastasis and poor prognosis in gastric cancer. This study highlights m6A-modified circPAK2 as a key regulator of LN metastasis of gastric cancer, thus supporting circPAK2 as a promising therapeutic target and prognostic biomarker for gastric cancer.