CircFAM13B promotes the proliferation of hepatocellular carcinoma by sponging miR-212, upregulating E2F5 expression and activating the P53 pathway

• Main Authors: Ying Xie, Xiaofeng Hang, Wensheng Xu, Jing Gu, Yuanjing Zhang, Jianrong Wang, Xiucui Zhang, Xinghao Cao, Junjie Zhan, Junxue Wang, Jianhe Gan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: BMC 2021-08-01
• Series: Cancer Cell International
• Subjects: circFAM13B; miR-212; E2F5; P53; HCC
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12935-021-02120-6

Abstract Background Most of the biological functions of circular RNAs (circRNAs) and the potential underlying mechanisms in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have not yet been discovered. Methods In this study, using circRNA expression data from HCC tumor tissues and adjacent tissues from the Gene Expression Omnibus database, we identified out differentially expressed circRNAs and verified them by qRT-PCT. Functional experiments were performed to evaluate the effects of circFAM13B in HCC in vitro and in vivo. Results We found that circFAM13B was the most significantly differentially expressed circRNA in HCC tissue. Subsequently, in vitro and in vivo studies also demonstrated that circFAM13B promoted the proliferation of HCC. Further studies revealed that circFAM13B, a sponge of miR-212, is involved in the regulation of E2F5 gene expression by competitively binding to miR-212, inhibits the activation of the P53 signalling pathway, and promotes the proliferation of HCC cells. Conclusions Our findings revealed the mechanism underlying the regulatory role played by circFAM13B, miR-212 and E2F5 in HCC. This study provides a new theoretical basis and novel target for the clinical prevention and treatment of HCC.