The Elevated Circ_0067835 Could Accelerate Cell Proliferation and Metastasis via miR-1236-3p/Twist2 Axis in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a malignant cancer with leading mortality worldwide. Circ_0067835 is a circRNA which plays an important role in various kinds of tumor, while the potential functions of circ_0067835 in HCC remains unclear. In this study, our results of microarray and real-time PCR (RT-PCR) showed that it was obviously elevated in human HCC tumor tissues and HCC cell lines. Inhibition of circ_0067835 restrained cell proliferation and migration in vitro. Furthermore, miR-1236-3p was decreased in tumor samples, and it was indicated to be a target of circ_0067835. Moreover, Twist2 was established to be elevated in HCC tissues, and we identified it as the direct target of miR-1236-3p. Finally, we found that knockdown of miR-1236-3p could reverse the circ_0067835 inhibition effects in HCC cells. In conclusion, our study demonstrated that circ_0067835 contributed to promoting hepatocellular carcinoma cell proliferation and metastasis through downregulating miR-1236-3p expression and then elevating Twist2 expression, which might provide a new vision for HCC patients.