Conclusion
Our study revealed the function of circPCNX and Pecanex in promoting HCC progression and acting as biomarkers in the clinical estimate and treatment of HCC.
Methods
Circular RNA sequencing was used to find the abnormally expressed circRNAs and qRT-PCR was used to verify it. CCK8 assay, colony formation assay and cell apoptosis assay were used to study biological functions, and Luciferase reporter assay and Western blot analysis were used to study the mechanism.
Results
We observed that circPCNX and Pecanex were significantly upregulated in tumor tissues of patients with HCC and correlated with clinicopathological variables or prognosis of HCC patients. Functional investigations showed circPCNX and Pecanex could promote the viability of HCC cells. Mechanistic investigations suggested that both circPCNX and Pecanex 3'UTR could bind to miR-506 and subsequently inhibited the miR-506-induced anticarcinogenic effect in HCC.