Circular RNA circANKS1B as the Sponge of miR-152-3p Promotes Prostate Cancer Progression by up-Regulating TGF-α Expression

Abstract Background: Growing studies indicate that circRNAs play critical roles in human diseases, and show great potential as biomarkers and therapeutic targets. This study aims to investigate the expression and function of circANKS1B in prostate cancer (PC).Methods: The expression of circANKS1B and miRNA-152-3p were determined by real-time qRT-PCR. The cell migration and invasion were measured by transwell assay. The interaction between circANKS1B and miR-152-3p was confirmed by dual-luciferase reporter gene assay. Rescue experiments were conducted to demonstrate whether circANKS1B regulated the migration and invasion of PC cells by the circANKS1B-miR-152-3p-TGF-α pathway.Results: The expression of circANKS1B was dramatically up-regulated both in PC cells and tissues. Moreover, high circANKS1B expression was associated with a poor prognosis of PC patients. Dual-luciferase reporter assay indicated that circABKS1B directly bound to miRNA-152-3p. Furthermore, circANKS1B negatively regulated miR-152-3p expression. Knockdown of circANKS1B remarkably suppressed PC cells invasion and TGF-α expression, while the effects of circANKS1B silencing were reversed by miR-152-3p deficiency. In addition, the impact of miR-152-3p silencing on PC cell invasion was also abrogated by TGF-α deficiency. In all, circANKS1B as the sponge of miR-152-3p promotes prostate cancer progression by up-regulating TGF-α expression.Conclusion: Our findings reveal that circANKS1B could be a potential prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target of PC.