Clinical Diagnostic Value of circ-ARHGER28 for Breast Cancer and its Effect on MCF 7 Cell Proliferation and Apoptosis

Background/Aim: Clinical diagnostic value of circARHGER28 in breast cancer (BC), and the biological functions of circ-ARHGER28 on the proliferation and apoptosis of MCF7 cells were investigated. Materials and Methods: Human circRNA microarray was performed to analyze the expression of circRNAs in BC patients. RT-qPCR combined with bioinformatics analysis was applied to verify the candidate circRNAs in BC tissues and peripheral blood samples. CircARHGER28 was chosen as the candidate gene for further research. The clinical diagnostic value and biological functions of circ-ARHGER28 were analyzed. The overexpression and negative control vector of circ-ARHGER28 were constructed and transfected to MCF-7 cells. The CCK 8 assay and clone formation experiments were applied to detect the cell proliferative and migratory abilities. Flow cytometry was used to analyze cell apoptosis and cell cycle distribution. RT-qPCR and Western blot were performed to detect apoptosis and expression of PI3K/AKT/mTOR-associated genes and proteins. Results: Overexpression of circ-ARHGER28 inhibited the proliferation, colony formation and migration of MCF-7 cells, while increasing the population of the cells in the G2/M 2 /M phase and the apoptotic rate. Apoptosis associated genes and proteins were significantly increased, whereas gene and protein expression of PI3K, AKT and mTOR were decreased in the cells. Conclusion: Circular RNA ARHGER28 exhibits promising diagnostic value for BC. Circ-ARHGER28 inhibited MCF-7 cell proliferation and increased the apoptotic rate. The function of circ-ARHGER28 was associated with the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway. Circ-ARHGER28 could be an ideal biomarker for BC diagnosis and a novel target for BC therapy.