Objective: To investigate the influence of circular RNA FBLIM1 (circFBLIM1) on proliferative and invasion abilities of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells.
Methods: The HCC cell lines HepG2, 7402 and 97H were transfected with circFBLIM1 interference sequences (si-circFBLIM1) and negative control sequences respectively. The transfection efficiency was examined by qRT-PCR, and then, the proliferative and invasion abilities of the cells were determined by CCK-8 assay and Transwell assay, respectively. Ten nude mice were randomized into two groups after subcutaneously inoculated with HepG2 cells, and were injected in situ with 40 μL si-circFBLIM1 and negative control sequences one time every 4 days. The volumes of the xenograft tumors were recorded every 4 days, and the xenograft tumors were completely enucleated and weighed after 28 d.
Results: The results of qRT-PCR showed that the circFBLIM1 expressions in the three different HCC cells were significantly reduced after si-circFBLIM1 transfection (all P<0.05). The results of CCK-8 assay and Transwell assay showed that the proliferative and invasion abilities of the three types of HCC cells were all significantly weakened after si-circFBLIM1 transfection (all P<0.05). The results of nude mouse tumor transplantation showed that the growth speed was significantly slow down, and both volume and weight were significantly reduced in the xenograft tumor with si-circFBLIM1 injection (all P<0.05).
Conclusion: CircFBLIM1 can promote the proliferation and invasion of HCC cells, and is probably an important regulatory factor for the malignant biological features of HCC. Inhibition of circFBLIM1 expression may be an effective therapeutic strategy against HCC.