circ_0004872 inhibits proliferation, invasion, and glycolysis of oral squamous cell carcinoma by sponged miR-424-5p.

Objective: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is one of the most common oral malignant tumors. circ_0004872 can inhibit the progression of gastric cancer, but its effect on the growth and metastasis of OSCC is still unclear.

Methods: qRT-PCR was used to detect the expression levels of circ_0004872 and miR-424-5p in cancer tissues of OSCC patients and adjacent normal tissues, OSCC cell lines, and human normal oral keratinocytes (HOK). CCK-8, cell colony formation, flow cytometry, and transwell assay were used to detect cell proliferation rate, viability, apoptosis rate, and invasion ability. Use glucose/lactic acid kit to assay cell glycolysis ability. The dual-luciferase reporter gene experiment and RIP experiment verified the relationship between circ_0004872 and miR-424-5p. The protein levels were examined by Western blot.

Results: The expression of circ_0004872 was significantly downregulated in OSCC tissues and cells, and the overexpression of circ_0004872 inhibited the proliferation, vitality, invasion, and glycolysis of OSCC cells, and promoted apoptosis. The expression of miR-424-5p was greatly upregulated in OSCC tissues and OSCC cells. circ_0004872 can adsorb miR-424-5p in OSCC cells, and circ_0004872 can reverse the promoting effect of miR-424-5p overexpression on the process of OSCC cells.

Conclusion: circ_0004872 suppresses the proliferation, invasion, and glycolysis of OSCC cells by sponged miR-424-5p, and promotes apoptosis, which can be used as a potential target for early diagnosis and targeted therapy of OSCC.