CircAGFG1 acts as a sponge of miR-4306 to stimulate esophageal cancer progression by modulating MAPRE2 expression

Objective: This work aims to determine the role of circular RNA (circRNA) AGFG1 and related molecular mechanism in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) cells.Methods: CircAGFG1 expression in ESCC cell lines was probed with qRT-PCR. ESCC cells were transfected/cotransfected with si-circAGFG1, pcDNA3.1-circAGFG1, si-Microtubule Associated Protein RP/EB Family Member 2 (MAPRE2), pcDNA3.1-circAGFG1 + miR-4306 mimic or pcDNA3.1-circAGFG1 + si-MAPRE2. The interactions between circAGFG1 and miR-4306 as well as miR-4306 and MAPRE2 were confirmed by dualluciferase reporter assay. Cell proliferation, migration and invasion were detected by CCK-8, cell scratch and Transwell assays, respectively. Relative RNA expression levels of circAGFG1, miR-4306 and MAPRE2 in ESCC cells were measured by qRT-PCR. The protein level of MAPRE2 in ESCC cells was monitored by Western blot.Results: CircAGFG1 was observably upregulated in ESCC cell lines. Besides, circAGFG1 silencing hindered ESCC cell development in vitro, and these effects were enhanced by miR-4306 overexpression or MAPRE2 silencing. Mechanistic analysis evidenced that circAGFG1 might act as a competitive endogenous RNA of miR-4306 to relieve the repressive effect of miR-4306 on its target MAPRE2.Conclusion: CircAGFG1 facilitates ESCC progression via the miR-4306/MAPRE2 axis, and it may act as a possible biomarker for therapy and diagnosis in ESCC treatment.