Circular RNA hsa_circ_0017247 acts as an oncogene in bladder cancer by inducing Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway.

OBJECTIVE: Bladder cancer (BLCA) is the most common genitourinary malignancy in the world. Recent studies have revealed that circular RNAs (circRNAs) are dysregulated in malignant tumors and participate in carcinogenesis. The purpose of our work is to uncover how hsa_circ_0017247 functions in BLCA. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In this research, Real Time-quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-qPCR) was conducted to monitor hsa_circ_0017247 expression in BLCA samples. Besides, proliferation assay, colony formation assay, and flow cytometry assay were performed in BLCA cells after hsa_circ_0017247 was knocked down. Meanwhile, the Western blot assay was conducted to explore the target signaling pathway of hsa_circ_0017247. Furthermore, tumor formation and metastasis assays were also conducted in vivo. RESULTS: Compared with the adjacent tissues, a significant upregulation in hsa_circ_0017247 expression was observed in BLCA samples. Functional assays showed that the inhibition of cell proliferation was induced via downregulating hsa_circ_0017247 in BLCA in vitro, while the promotion of cell proliferation was induced via downregulating hsa_circ_0017247 in BLCA in vitro. Moreover, the results of further experiments revealed that the targeted proteins in the Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway were downregulated via knockdown of hsa_circ_0017247 in BLCA. In addition, tumor formation and metastasis of BLCA were inhibited via knockdown of hsa_circ_0017247 in nude mice. CONCLUSIONS: We discovered a vital regulatory mechanism of hsa_circ_0017247 in BLCA which might serve as a new therapeutic intervention for BLCA patients.