Hsa_circ_0002980 prevents proliferation, migration, invasion, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition of liver cancer cells through microRNA-1303/cell adhesion molecule 2 axis

Abstract

Background: Liver cancer (LC) is a hackneyed malignant tumor. And the dysregulation of circular RNA (circRNA) is relevant to the metastasis of LC. Hsa_circ_0002980 was unexpectedly found to be up-regulated in LC tissues, while its specific function remains unclear. Methods: Hsa_circ_0002980 expression was first confirmed by RT-qPCR. Then the impacts of circ_0002980 on the proliferation, metastasis, and EMT-related proteins of LC cells through clone formation, Flow cytometer, Transwell, and western blot. Besides, the relationship between circ_0002980 and miR-1303 or miR-1303 and CADM2 was analyzed by dual luciferase reporter assay, and the influences of these three genes on LC cell progression were determined through the rescued experiments.Results: Has_circ_0002980 expression was lowered in LC. And circ_0002980 overexpression had obvious inhibitory actions on the proliferation, migration, invasion, and EMT of LC cells. Besides, circ_0002980 specifically binds to miR-1303, the acceleration effect of miR-1303 overexpression on LC progression can be partially reversed by circ_0002980. Moreover, miR-1303 can also target CADM2, and CADM2-mediated prevention also could be attenuated by miR-1303 overexpression.Conclusions: In LC cells, circ_0002980 upregulation prevents cell proliferation, metastasis and EMT by affecting miR-1303/CADM2 axis. Therefore, we suggest that this axis may be a novel therapeutic target for LC.