Circular RNA circ-ABCB10 promotes the proliferation and invasion of thyroid cancer by targeting KLF6

Recent researches have proved that circular RNAs (circRNAs) play important roles in many diseases. Thyroid cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors worldwide. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the role of circ-ABCB10 in thyroid cancer.

Circ-ABCB10 expression in 40 paired thyroid cancer tissues and adjacent normal tissues was monitored by Real Time-quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-qPCR). Subsequently, circ-ABCB10 was silenced or overexpressed in thyroid cancer cells. Function assays were conducted to explore the role of circ-ABCB10 in the proliferation and invasion of thyroid cancer in vitro. Furthermore, RT-qPCR and Western blot assay were performed to elucidate the potential underlying mechanism.

Circ-ABCB10 expression was significantly higher in thyroid cancer tissues than that in adjacent tissues. The growth ability of thyroid cancer cells was significantly inhibited after circ-ABCB10 silence. However, the growth ability of thyroid cancer cells was remarkably promoted after circ-ABCB10 was overexpressed in vitro. Similarly, the invasion of thyroid cancer cells was significantly inhibited or promoted after circ-ABCB10 silence or overexpression, respectively. Besides, the expression of KLF6 was markedly up-regulated by the silence of circ-ABCB10. However, KLF6 expression was down-regulated by overexpression of circ-ABCB10.

Circ-ABCB10 was first identified as a novel oncogene in thyroid cancer. Furthermore, it significantly enhanced the proliferation and invasion of thyroid cancer by targeting KLF6. Our findings suggested that circ-ABCB10 could be used as a potential therapeutic target in thyroid cancer.