MiR-1261/circ-PTPRZ1/PAK1 pathway regulates glioma cell growth and invasion

Glioma is the most common primary brain tumor in adults, with high malignancy and poor prognosis. According to the research in these years, the relationship between circular RNAs (circRNAs) and glioma development is abnormally close. Studies on circRNAs in glioma cells revealed that miR-1261 had almost completely matched binding site on the circ-PTPRZ1 sequence, and dual-luciferase reporter gene assay confirmed that circ-PTPRZ1 was a target gene of miR-1261. MiR-1261 inhibited circ-PTPRZ1 expression in glioma cells, while circ-PTPRZ1 did not affect miR-1261 expression. At the same time, circ-PTPRZ1 could promote p-PAK1 expression, while miR-1261 suppressed the activation of PAK1 by regulating the expression of circ-PTPRZ1. Biological behaviors of glioma cells were detected, circ-PTPRZ1 enhanced cell proliferation and invasion, and inhibited cell apoptosis; miR-1261 had the opposite effects, and could terminate the above effects of circ-PTPRZ1. When co-transfected with PAK1 siRNAs and circ-PTPRZ1 over-expression vector, the changes of above biological behaviors were not obvious. Therefore, in glioma cells, the expression of circ-PTPRZ1/PAK1 is regulated by miR-1261, which affects the proliferation, apoptosis, and invasion. This finding provides another powerful evidence for the role of circRNAs in glioma.