Circular RNA expression profiling identifies specific circular RNAs in tongue squamous cell carcinoma

Tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC) is the most frequent type of oral cancer associated with high malignancy. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a form of non-coding RNA with stable and conserved expression in mammalian cells. The aim of the present study was to investigate circRNAs expression profiles in TSCC, and examine the roles and potential mechanisms of circRNA-081069 (circ_081069). A high-throughput circRNA microarray analysis of tumor samples and adjacent normal tissues from four patients with TSCC was performed. Bioinformatic analysis was conducted to screen the differentially expressed circRNAs. Reverse transcription-quantitative PCR was performed to confirm the microarray results. A migration assay and proliferation assay were performed to detect the migratory and proliferative ability of TSCC cells. A luciferase assay was conducted to investigate the interaction between circ_081069 and microRNA (miRNA/miR)-665. In total, 335 circRNAs were found to be differentially expressed in tumor tissues. Among them, 59 were upregulated and 276 were downregulated (P<0.05; fold change ≥2 or ≤0.5). A total of seven circRNAs, including two upregulated and five downregulated circRNAs, were further confirmed using quantitative PCR analysis in the ten paired TSCC tissues and adjacent normal tissues. The present study showed that circRNA_081069 promoted the migratory and proliferative ability of TSCC cells in vitro. Furthermore, the potential circRNA-miRNA interactions were predicted, and the present results identified miR-665 as a miRNA target of circ_081069. The present results suggested that circRNAs may be involved in TSCC development, and understanding the interaction between circ_081069 and miR-665 may facilitate the development of novel diagnostic and therapeutic targets for TSCC.