Up-regulated circBACH2 contributes to cell proliferation, invasion, and migration of triple-negative breast cancer

An increasing amount of evidence has proven the vital role of circular RNAs (circRNAs) in cancer progression. However, there remains a dearth of knowledge on the function of circRNAs in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Utilizing a circRNA microarray dataset, four circRNAs were identified to be abnormally expressed in TNBC. Among them, circBACH2 was most significantly elevated in TNBC cancerous tissues and its high expression was positively correlated to the malignant progression of TNBC patients. In normal human mammary gland cell line, the overexpression of circBACH2 facilitated epithelial to mesenchymal transition and cell proliferation. In TNBC cell lines, circBACH2 knockdown suppressed the malignant progression of TNBC cells. Mechanistically, circBACH2 sponged miR-186-5p and miR-548c-3p, thus releasing the C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4 (CXCR4) expression. The interference of miR-186-5p/miR-548c-3p efficiently promoted the cell proliferation, migration, and invasion suppressed by circBACH2 knockdown in the TNBC cell lines. Finally, circBACH2 knockdown repressed the growth and lung metastasis of TNBC xenografts in nude mice. In summary, circBACH2 functions as an oncogenic circRNA in TNBC through a novel miR-186-5p/miR-548c-3p/CXCR4 axis.