Circular RNA circ_0000082 drives tumor progression by regulating the miR-1231/R-Ras2 axis in human melanoma

Abstract

Melanoma represents one of the most deadly types of dermatological cancer. Recently, a circular RNA, circ_0000082, has been found overexpressed in melanoma. However, its function in melanoma progression and the molecular mechanism remains enigmatic. Therefore, this study aims to investigate howcirc_0000082 regulate melanoma progression and molecularly dissect the pertinent mechanism. In this study, circ_0000082 was upregulated in melanoma cells and tissues, which may lead to a poor prognosis of patients with melanoma. Mechanistic studies elucidated that circ_0000082 could sponge miR-1231 and that R-Ras targetedmiR-1231. Further, we demonstrated that circ_0000082 promoted the cell proliferation and invasion in melanoma and promoted tumor growth through upregulating R-Ras2 expression by sponging miR-1231. Moreover, we found that the PI3K/AKT signaling was the axis that was directly regulated by R-Ras. The rescue experiment showed that PI3K/AKT signaling activation and the malignant phenotype induced by circ_0000082 overexpression could be partially reversed by R-Ras2 knockdown. In conclusion, these results suggest that circ_0000082 promotes melanoma progression by modulating the miR-1231/R-Ras2/PI3K/AKT axis. Therefore, circ_0000082 holds great potential as a pharmaceutical target for developing a treatment for melanoma.