Downregulation of Hsa_circ_0000735 Inhibits the Proliferation, Migration, Invasion, and Glycolysis in Non-small-cell Lung Cancer by Targeting miR-940/BMPER Axis

Weizhe Huang,1 Xin Xu,2– 5 Mengyang Liu,2– 5 Weixue Cui,2– 5 Guilin Peng2– 5 1Department of Thoracic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shantou 515041, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Thoracic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 510120, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China; 3State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou 510120, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China; 4National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou 510120, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China; 5Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, Guangzhou 510120, Guangdong, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Guilin Peng Tel +86-20-83062114Email pvlpl4@163.comBackground: Lung cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer and the major cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. The increasing studies have demonstrated that circular RNA (circRNA) was involved in the progression of various cancers, including non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This study was designed to assess the expression, roles and functional mechanisms of circ_0000735 in NSCLC.Materials and Methods: The expression levels of circ_0000735, miR-940 and bone morphogenetic protein binding endothelial cell precursor-derived regulator (BMPER) were estimated by the real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). The biological behaviors of NSCLC cells such as proliferation, migration and invasion were analyzed by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8), colony-forming assays and transwell assay, respectively. Furthermore, extracellular acid ratio and lactate production were tested to assess glycolysis levels of NSCLC cells. The interaction relationship among circ_0000735, BMPER and miR-940 was analyzed by bioinformatics database and dual-luciferase reporter assay. The protein expression level of BMPER was assessed b