Abstract
Abnormal circular RNA (circRNA) expression correlates with human traits such as many kinds of cancers. Though circRNAs have links to cancer, they have less characterization in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (PCa), which is main reason for PCa mortality. Therefore, high-throughput sequencing was used for selected circRNA profiles. The result showed that circ-TRPS1 was upregulated significantly in high-grade PCa tissues or cell lines. High circ-TRPS1 expression correlated to aggressive PCa phenotypes. Knockdown of circ-TRPS1 suppressed PCa proliferation and metastasis through targeting miR-124-3p/EZH2 axis-mediated stemness in PCa, which was validated by luciferase reporter assays. EZH2 overexpression or miR-124-3p inhibition reversed the inhibition of circ-TRPS1 silencing in PCa cell migration and proliferation by recovering stemness. In summary, data demonstrated that circ-TRPS1 suppressed PCa progression through functioning similar to a miR-124-3p sponge to enhance EZH2 expression and cancer stem-like cell differentiation. Thus, circ-TRPS1 might be a candidate target for PCa treatment.