Circular RNA expression profiles reveal that hsa_circ_0018289 is up-regulated in cervical cancer and promotes the tumorigenesis

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a type of non-coding RNAs that have been identified as critical regulators in various diseases, especially in cancers. However, the expression profiles and functions of circRNAs in cervical cancer are still unclear. In present study, human circRNAs microarray were performed to screen the circRNAs expression in cervical cancer tissue. Microarray analysis revealed 45 significantly expressed circRNAs with 4 fold change. Among these up-regulated circRNAs, hsa_circ_0018289 was validated to be significantly up-regulated in 35 pairs of cervical cancer tissue compared with adjacent normal tissue and cell lines. Loss-of-function experiments revealed that, in vitro and in vivo, hsa_circ_0018289 knockdown inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion of cervical cancer cells. Via bioinformatics prediction program and luciferase reporter assays, hsa_circ_0018289 was observed to directly bind to miR-497. Taken together, the results indicate that hsa_circ_0018289 plays important role in cervical cancer proliferation, migration and invasion, suggesting the miRNA 'sponge' of hsa_circ_0018289 and its oncogenic role on cervical cancer tumorigenesis.