Circ_MDM2_000139, Circ_ATF2_001418, Circ_CDC25C_002079, and Circ_BIRC6_001271 Are Involved in the Functions of XAV939 in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Abstract EN

Background.

The small molecule inhibitor XAV939 could inhibit the proliferation and promote the apoptosis of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells.

This study was conducted to identify the key circular RNAs (circRNAs) and microRNAs (miRNAs) in XAV939-treated NSCLC cells.

Methods.

After grouping, the NCL-H1299 cells in the treatment group were treated by 10 μM XAV939 for 12 h.

RNA-sequencing was performed, and then the differentially expressed circRNAs (DE-circRNAs) were analyzed by the edgeR package.

Using the clusterprofiler package, enrichment analysis for the hosting genes of the DE-circRNAs was performed.

Using Cytoscape software, the miRNA-circRNA regulatory network was built for the disease-associated miRNAs and the DE-circRNAs.

The DE-circRNAs that could translate into proteins were predicted using circBank database and IRESfinder tool.

Finally, the transcription factor (TF)-circRNA regulatory network was built by Cytoscape software.

In addition, A549 and HCC-827 cell treatment with XAV939 were used to verify the relative expression levels of key DE-circRNAs.

Results.

There were 106 DE-circRNAs (including 61 upregulated circRNAs and 45 downregulated circRNAs) between treatment and control groups.

Enrichment analysis for the hosting genes of the DE-circRNAs showed that ATF2 was enriched in the TNF signaling pathway.

Disease association analysis indicated that 8 circRNAs (including circ_MDM2_000139, circ_ATF2_001418, circ_CDC25C_002079, and circ_BIRC6_001271) were correlated with NSCLC.

In the miRNA-circRNA regulatory network, let-7 family members⟶circ_MDM2_000139, miR-16-5p/miR-134-5p⟶circ_ATF2_001418, miR-133b⟶circ_BIRC6_001271, and miR-221-3p/miR-222-3p⟶circ_CDC25C_002079 regulatory pairs were involved.

A total of 47 DE-circRNAs could translate into proteins.

Additionally, circ_MDM2_000139 was targeted by the TF POLR2A.

The verification test showed that the relative expression levels of circ_MDM2_000139, circ_CDC25C_002079, circ_ATF2_001418, and circ_DICER1_000834 in A549 and HCC-827 cell treatment with XAV939 were downregulated comparing with the control.

Conclusions.

Let-7 family members and POLR2A targeting circ_MDM2_000139, miR-16-5p/miR-134-5p targeting circ_ATF2_001418, miR-133b targeting circ_BIRC6_001271, and miR-221-3p/miR-222-3p targeting circ_CDC25C_002079 might be related to the mechanism in the treatment of NSCLC by XAV939.