Hsa_circ_0070269 inhibits hepatocellular carcinoma progression through modulating miR-182/NPTX1 axis

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) have recently been shown to play critical roles in tumorigenesis. However, the roles of circRNAs in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain largely unknown. In the present study, we identified a novel circRNA (hsa_circ_0070269) was significantly decreased in HCC tissues and cell lines, low hsa_circ_0070269 expression was positively associated with advanced tumor stage, lymph node metastasis, and poor overall survival. Hsa_circ_0070269 overexpression suppressed proliferation and invasion of HCC cells in vitro and reduced tumor growth in vivo. Mechanistically, hsa_circ_0070269 increased NPTX1 expression via sponging miR-182 in HCC cells, which inhibited aggressive tumor behavior. Taken together, our findings suggest that hsa_circ_0070269 might play an important role in HCC development via miR-182/NPTX1 axis, therefore could serve as a potential therapeutic target for HCC treatment.