Circular RNAs (circRNAs) act as competing endogenous RNAs, which are involved in the regulation of many types of cancers. They primarily function by sponging microRNAs (miRNAs) and influencing the expression of miRNA by target messenger RNA. However, the role of circRNAs in the progression of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) remains largely unclear. In this study, differentially expressed miRNAs associated with NPC were screened using microarray analyses, from which miR-107 was identified. Increased miR-107 expression was associated with poor prognosis in NPC, and miR-107 promoted the proliferation and migration of NPC cells. TGFBR2 was identified as the direct target of miR-107, which could reverse its effect on NPC cells. Furthermore, the expression of circTGFBR2 was downregulated in NPC tissue samples, while circTGFBR2 overexpression correlated with favorable prognosis in NPC. Functionally, circTGFBR2 overexpression inhibited the proliferation and migration of NPC cells both in vitro and in vivo. Further analysis showed that circTGFBR2 sponged miR-107, leading to the upregulation of TGFBR2 expression and suppression of NPC progression. Therefore, circTGFBR2 may serve as a novel tumor suppressive factor and potential target for new therapies in NPC patients.

环状RNA（circRNA）充当竞争性内源RNA，参与多种癌症的调控。它们主要通过海绵化microRNA（miRNA）并通过靶信使RNA影响miRNA的表达来发挥功能。但是，circRNA在鼻咽癌（NPC）进展中的作用仍不清楚。在这项研究中，使用微阵列分析筛选了与NPC相关的差异表达的miRNA，从中鉴定了miR-107。miR-107表达增加与NPC的预后不良有关，而miR-107促进NPC细胞的增殖和迁移。TGFBR2被确定为miR-107的直接靶标，可以逆转其对NPC细胞的作用。此外，NPC组织样品中circTGFBR2的表达下调，circTGFBR2过表达与鼻咽癌预后良好相关。在功能上，circTGFBR2的过表达在体外和体内均抑制NPC细胞的增殖和迁移。进一步的分析表明，circTGFBR2抑制了miR-107，导致TGFBR2表达上调并抑制NPC进展。因此，circTGFBR2可能是一种新型的肿瘤抑制因子，并且是NPC患者新疗法的潜在靶标。