Upregulation of circ_0066444 promotes the proliferation, invasion, and migration of gastric cancer cells

BACKGROUND: Circular RNAs (circRNAs), which have closed-loop structure, are involved in the pathogenesis of human diseases including various types of carcinomas. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between a new circular RNA named circ_0066444 and gastric cancer (GC) carcinogenesis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The circ_0066444 levels in 106 paired gastric carcinoma tissues and related adjacent normal tissues were detected by real-time quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction. The correlation between the expression of circ_0066444 and clinicopathological features was analyzed. The impact of circ_0066444 expression on cell proliferation, invasion, as well as migration was evaluated in vitro using knockdown expression strategies. Finally, a network of circ_0066444-targeted miRNA interactions and their corresponding mRNAs was constructed. RESULTS: circ_0066444 was found to be significantly upregulated in 106 GC tissues as compared with paired adjacent nontumorous tissues (P=0.025), showing a high positive correlation with lymphatic metastasis (P=0.023). Furthermore, in vitro assays of the GC cell lines BGC-823 and AGS demonstrated that knockdown of circ_0066444 reduced cell proliferation, invasion, and migration significantly. Prediction and annotation revealed circ_0066444 was able to sponge to 5 miRNAs and 15 corresponding target mRNAs. CONCLUSION: Our study indicated upregulation of circ_0066444 promotes gastric cell proliferation, invasion, and migration ability and might serve as a novel biomarker for GC.