Circular RNA 0047905 acts as a sponge for microRNA4516 and microRNA1227-5p, initiating gastric cancer progression

Several lines of evidence suggest that circular RNAs (circRNAs) play important roles in oncogenesis and tumor progression. However, our knowledge of the role of circRNAs in gastric cancer (GC) remains limited. We investigated the possibility that circular RNA 0047905 (circRNA0047905) might act as a tumor promoter in the pathogenesis of gastric cancer by profiling miRNA expression in GC tissues and paired noncancerous mucosa tissues using miRNA microarrays. Next, a ceRNA network was constructed according to common miRNAs binding circRNAs and mRNAs. Mechanistically, we demonstrated that circRNA0047905 directly binds miR4516 and miR1227-5p, relieving suppression for targets SERPINB5 and MMP11. We observed that down-regulated circRNA0047905 expression in gastric cancer cells inhibited Akt/CREB signaling pathway activation. RNA scope in situ hybridization revealed expression of circRNA0047905 in GC. Our data suggest that circRNA0047905 is a promising target for GC diagnosis and therapy.