Clinical diagnostic value of circ-ARHGER28 for breast cancer and its effect on MCF-7 cell proliferation and apoptosis

Abstract

Objective To investigate the clinical diagnostic value of circ-ARHGER28 in breast cancer (BC), and the biological functiona of circ-ARHGER28 on the proliferation and apoptosis of MCF-7 cells. Methods Human circRNA microarray was performed to analysis the expression of circRNAs in BC patients. RT-qPCR combined with bioinformatic analysis was applied to verify the candidate circRNAs in BC tissues and peripheral blood. Circ-ARHGER28 was chosen as the candidate gene for further research. The clinical diagnostic value and biological functions of circ-ARHGER28 were analyzed. The over-expression and inhibit vector of circ-ARHGER28 were constructed and transfected to MCF-7 cells, the CCK-8 assay and clone formation experiments were applied to detect the cells proliferative and migratory abilities. Flow cytometry analyzed cell apoptosis and cell cycle distribution. RTqPCR and western blot were performed to detect the expression of apoptosis and PI3K/AKT/mTOR associated genes and proteins. Results Over-expression of circ-ARHGER28 inhibited the proliferation, colony formation and migration of the MCF-7 cells, as well as increased the population of the cells G₂/M phase and apoptotic rate. The apoptosis associated genes and proteins were significantly increased, whereas the gene and protein of PI3K, AKT and mTOR were decreased in the cells. Conclusion circ-ARHGER28 has a good correlation with BC. Circ-ARHGER28 inhibited MCF-7 cells proliferation and increased its apoptotic rate. The function of circ-ARHGER28 was associated with the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway. Circ-ARHGER28 proved to be an ideal biomarker for BC diagnostic and a novel target for BC therapy.