AUTHOR=Zhu Cailin , Bi Weiyun , Li Hongtao , Wang Wen 

TITLE=CircLONP2 Accelerates Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Progression via Direct MiR-27b-3p-ZEB1 Axis

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Oncology

VOLUME=12

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/oncology/articles/10.3389/fonc.2022.822839

DOI=10.3389/fonc.2022.822839

ISSN=2234-943X

ABSTRACT=<p>Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are important mediators in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) carcinogenesis. We aim to explore the functions and mechanisms of circLONP2 in ESCC progression. The circLONP2 level was evaluated in ESCC samples and cell lines. The role and mechanisms of circLONP2 in ESCC proliferation and migration were demonstrated <italic>in vitro</italic>. We found that circLONP2 was upregulated in human ESCC and predicts poor overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS). CircLONP2 promotes ESCC aggressiveness by directly interacting with miR-27b-3p, thus upregulating the expression levels of its target gene ZEB1 by suppressing miR-27b-3p activity. Therefore, we demonstrated that circLONP2/miR-27b-3p/ZEB1 axis promotes ESCC metastasis <italic>via</italic> regulating epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related proteins. CircLONP2 may serve as an oncogenic circRNA and as a prognostic biomarker in ESCC progression.</p>