Relationship between circRNA-100338/microRNA-141-3p axis and phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase/protein kinase B/mammalian target of rapamycin signaling pathway in hepatocellular carcinoma

Objective To explore the molecular mechanism of competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) and related signaling pathway for circular RNA (circRNA) of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods Ten pairs of HCC and adjacent tissues were collected, and four pairs of specimens were detected by circular RNA chip. Cluster analysis, bioinformatics analysis and real-time quantitive reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) were applied for the target circRNAs. Base on the similar type of open sequencing database, we constructed the microRNA (miRNA, miR)-Target-Network and miRNA-Gene-Act-Network by using Cytoscape software and analyzed signal pathways that was closely related to the target circRNAs. The key protein in this signaling pathway was validated by immunohistochemical (IHC) analysis. Results Tissue RNA extraction and quality inspection were qualified. Circular RNA chip was used to detect circRNAs in HCC and adjacent tissues. The images were clear, and the scanning data were reliable. Cluster analysis and RT-qPCR validation results showed that circRNA_100338 was a candidate target to adsorb microRNA-141-3p, the level of circRNA_100338 in HCC (0.012±0.007) was higher than that in para-cancer (0.005±0.003) (P 0.015) when compared with control group (P<0.05). Conclusion The circRNA_100338/miR-141-3p axis is involved in the regulation of PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway in HCC, and the expression intensity of RHEB protein is correlated with the level of circRNA_100338. Key words: Carcinoma, hepatocellular; Competing endogenous RNA; Signaling pathway