has_circ_0070512 promotes prostate cancer progression by regulating the miR‐338‐3p/hedgehog signaling pathway

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a type of non‐coding RNA that plays a vital role in biology. circRNAs appear to have a role in the development and progression of several malignancies, according to research. However, circRNAs that regulate prostate cancer (PCa) progression are still largely unknown and deserve further exploration. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of hsa_circ_0070512 on the function and mechanism of PCa. hsa_circ_0070512 was increased in PCa tissues and cells and was mostly found in the cytoplasm of PCa cells. Overexpression of hsa_circ_0070512 considerably increased PCa cell proliferation and migration, whereas silencing of hsa_circ_0070512 greatly decreased PCa cell proliferation and migration. Mechanistically, we show that hsa_circ_0070512 acts as a “molecular sponge” for miR‐338‐3p and that the miR‐338‐3p mimics partially block the pro‐tumor effects of hsa_circ_0070512. RNA sequencing analysis of PC3 cells stably overexpressing hsa_circ_0070512 revealed that hedgehog was downstream of the signaling pathways of hsa_circ_0070512 and miR‐338‐3p. Our results implied that hsa_circ_0070512 regulated the hedgehog signaling pathways through miR‐338‐3p to enhance PCa growth and migration, providing a new diagnostic and therapeutic target for PCa.