Circ-FOXM1 promotes the proliferation, migration and EMT process of osteosarcoma cells through FOXM1-mediated Wnt pathway activation

BACKGROUND: Osteosarcoma (OS) is a malignant bone tumor that commonly occurs in adolescents with a high mortality rate and frequent pulmonary metastasis. Emerging evidence has suggested that circular RNAs (circRNAs) are important regulators in multiple biological activities of carcinomas. Nevertheless, the role of circRNAs derived from forkhead box M1 (FOXM1), a well-accepted modulator of OS progression, has not been discussed in OS. METHODS: Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was utilized to test circ-FOXM1 (hsa_circ_0025033) expression in OS cell lines. Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8), 5-ethynyl-2’-deoxyuridine (EdU), terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL), transwell assays and western blot analysis of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers were conducted to evaluate cell proliferation, apoptosis, migration, and EMT process. Luciferase reporter assay and RNA-binding protein immunoprecipitation (RIP) assay were utilized to detect the interaction of circ-FOXM1 and RNAs. RESULTS: High expression of circ-FOXM1 was detected in OS cell lines. Functionally, circ-FOXM1 knockdown inhibited the proliferation, migration and EMT process, whereas induced the apoptosis of OS cells. From the aspect of molecular mechanism, circ-FOXM1 was discovered to upregulate FOXM1 expression via sponging miR-320a and miR-320b, therefore activating Wnt signaling pathway. Besides, rescue experiments elucidated that circ-FOXM1 regulated cellular activities of OS cells via FOXM1. Further, in vivo assays supported that loss of circ-FOXM1 restrained OS tumor growth. CONCLUSION: Circ-FOXM1 facilitated the malignant phenotypes of OS cells through FOXM1-mediated Wnt pathway activation, revealing circ-FOXM1 as a potential biomarker for OS treatment. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13018-022-03207-0.