Down-regulation of circRNA_0000143 regulates miR-142-3p/GRα axis to facilitate the progression of T-ALL.

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) regulate gene expression in eukaryotes and participate in the progression of malignancy. Instead, the function and underlying mechanisms of circ_0000143 in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) remain unclear. In this study, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was executed to probe circ_0000143 expression in bone marrow samples from T-ALL patients. T-ALL cell lines (MOLT4 and CCRF-CEM) were used to construct cell models. The biological functions of circ_0000143 were studied by CCK-8 assay, Transwell assay, flow cytometry and Western blotting in vitro. Bioinformatics analysis, dual-luciferase reporter gene assay and RIP assay were applied to predict and validate the interaction between circ_0000143 and miR-142-3p, as well as miR-142-3p and cyclic glucocorticoid receptor alpha (GRα). It was revealed that circ_0000143 expression level was significantly reduced in T-ALL samples compared with healthy control. Circ_0000143 overexpression suppressed the viability, migration and invasion, and induced apoptosis of T-ALL cell line. Furthermore, circ_0000143 acted as a molecular sponge to the expression of miR-142-3p. GRα was validated as a downstream target of miR-142-3p, and GRα was positively modulated by circ_0000143. Taken together, these findings reveal that circ_0000143 / miR-142-3p / GRα axis is implicated in the progression of T-ALL , which is expected to become a novel therapeutic target in T-ALL. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.