Lidocaine hampers colorectal cancer process via circITFG2/miR-1204/SOCS2 axis

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a deadly disease with a poor prognosis. Lidocaine is preferred by surgical procedures due to the excellent anesthesia. Circular RNA integrin alpha FG-GAP repeat containing 2 (circITFG2) has been recognized as a momentous participator in CRC progression. The specific role of circITFG2 was further studied in this research. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was devoted to examining the expression of circITFG2, microRNA-1204 (miR-1204) and SOCS2 mRNA in CRC cells. Western blot was used to determine SOCS2 protein expression in CRC cells. Cell viability, colony formation and apoptosis were detected by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay, colony formation assay and flow cytometry assay respectively. Cell migration and invasion were tested by wound healing assay and transwell assay. Dual-luciferase reporter system, RNA pull down and RNA-binding protein immunoprecipitation (RIP) assays were applied to verify the combination between miR-1204 and circITFG2 or SOCS2. CircITFG2 was strikingly downregulated; however, lidocaine treatment induced a significant increase in the expression of circITFG2 and SOCS2 and a decrease in miR-1204 expression in CRC cells. Meanwhile, SOCS2 protein expression was upregulated by lidocaine treatment or miR-1204 silence in CRC cells and downregulated by circITFG2 knockdown or miR-1204 overexpression in lidocaine-treated CRC cells. CircITFG2 knockdown or miR-1204 overexpression abolished lidocaine-induced inhibition in proliferation, metastasis and promotion in apoptosis in CRC cells. CircITFG2 overexpression, SOCS3 overexpression or lidocaine treatment suppressed proliferation, metastasis and facilitated apoptosis in CRC cells. CircITFG2 sponged miR-1204 to regulate SOCS3 expression in lidocaine-treated CRC cells. Lidocaine hindered CRC progression by circITFG2/miR-1204/SOCS2 axis. This finding might beat a path in improving CRC therapy.