RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Circular RNAs (circRNA) are important in mediating tumor progression, but their roles in endometrial carcinoma (EC) are not fully understood yet. Many circRNAs are dysregulated and may contribute to EC progression. The functions of circWDR26 in EC remain unknown. METHODS: The expression of circWDR26 in EC and adjacent normal tissues, and cell lines was determined by qPCR. The proliferation, apoptosis, migration, and invasion of EC cells was examined by CCK-8 assay, flow cytometry, wound healing assay and Transwell assay. The interaction between circWDR26, MSH2 and miR-212-3p was determined by luciferase assay. EC cells were inoculated into nude mice and tumor burden was determined by measuring tumor dimensions, size, and weight. The proliferative marker Ki67 in EC tissue was determined by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: The expression of circWDR26 in EC tissues or cell lines was higher than in the normal tissue or endometrial epithelial cells. Downregulation of circWDR26 resulted in attenuated proliferation, increased apoptosis, reduced migration and invasion of EC cells. Mechanistically, circWDR26 targeted and suppressed the expression of miR-212-3p. We further found that MSH2 was the novel target of miR-212-3p and was upregulated by circWDR26 via inhibiting miR-212-3p. In vivo experiment demonstrated that circWDR26 was essential for EC tumor growth. CONCLUSION: circWDR26 promoted EC progression by regulating miR-212-3p/MSH2 axis and provided novel insights into anti-cancer treatment.