CircRNA circPTK2 Might Suppress Cancer Cell Invasion and Migration of Glioblastoma by Inhibiting miR-23a Maturation.

Background CircRNA circPTK2 plays opposite roles in different cancers, while its role in glioblastoma is unknown. The aim of this study was to explore the involvement of circPTK2 in glioblastoma. Methods Expression of circPTK2, mature miR-23a, and premature miR-23a in paired cancer and non-cancer tissues from glioblastoma patients (n = 60) was analyzed by RT-qPCR. Pearson's correlation coefficient was used to analyze the correlations between gene expressions. The effects of circPTK2 overexpression on miR-23a maturation were analyzed by transfecting circPTK2 expression vector into glioblastoma cells, followed by determining the expression of mature miR-23a and premature miR-23a by RT-qPCR. Transwell assays were carried out to explore the role of circPTK2 and miR-23a in regulating glioblastoma cell invasion and migration. Results We found that circPTK2 was downregulated in GBM and was inversely correlated with mature miR-23a, but not premature miR-23a. GBM cells transfected with circPTK2 expression vector showed significantly downregulated mature miR-23a, but not premature miR-23a. Transwell assay analysis showed that circPTK2 overexpression decreased cell invasion and migration, while miR-23a increased cell invasion and migration. Moreover, miR-23a overexpression reversed the inhibitory effects of circPTK2 overexpression on cell behaviors. Conclusion CircPTK2 might suppress cancer cell invasion and migration by inhibiting the maturation of miR-23a.