Prostate cancer is the most common malignant
tumor of the urinary system. The mechanisms of the initiation and progression of
prostate cancer have not been fully elucidated. Increasing evidence suggests that
circular RNAs (
circRNAs) are involved in
cancer pathogenesis. In this study, we aimed to identify differentially expressed
circRNAs in
prostate cancer tissues and explored the role of
circRNAs in the pathogenesis of
prostate cancer. By screening a
circRNA microarray assay, we found that circ_0088233 was upregulated in
prostate cancer tissues compared to adjacent normal tissues, and this upregulation can be verified in 46 pairs of
prostate cancer and adjacent normal tissues examined using quantitative reverse transcription-PCR. The level of circ_0088233 correlated with the TNM stage. Knockdown of circ_0088233 reduced cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and induced G1 phase arrest and apoptosis. In addition, miR-185-3p was identified as the downstream target of circ_0088233 using
luciferase reporter assays and a biotinylated circ_0088233 probe pull-down assay. The miR-185-3p level showed a negative correlation with the circ_0088233 level in
prostate cancer tissues. Overexpression of circ_0088233 blocked the effects of miR-185-3p on cell proliferation, migration, invasion, cell cycle, and apoptosis. In conclusion, circ_0088233 may function as an oncogene and play an oncogenic role by sponging hsa-miR-185-3p. This study increases the understanding of
circRNAs in the progression of
prostate cancer. These results implicate circ_0088233 as a potential therapeutic target for
prostate cancer.