Dysregulated circRNAs and ceRNA network in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Accumulating evidence suggests that circular RNA (circRNA), once thought to be a transcriptional error, plays an important regulatory role in the tumor biological process. Some circRNAs regulate the protein-coding gene expression by competitive binding with microRNAs (miRNAs). However, functional roles of circRNA-mediated competitive endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) are rarely reported. To explore the biological functions of circRNAs in ESCC, we surveyed the integrating differential circRNA expression of ESCC and para-cancer tissues using microarray in three patients. Then, we screened out differentially expressed mRNAs obtained from 81 ESCC tissues and 11 normal tissues in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Then, we constructed a hypothetical ceRNA network by integrating differential expression of circRNAs and mRNAs. Finally, 32 differentially expressed circRNAs and 98 differentially expressed mRNAs were linked by 64 miRNAs to build the ceRNA network in ESCC. We suggest that the identified ceRNA network can facilitate a better understanding of circRNA-related mechanisms in ESCC.