Colon cancer (CC) currently ranks as the third most common human cancer worldwide with an increasing incidence and a poor prognosis. Recently, circular RNAs have been reported to regulate the progression of diverse human cancers. However, the role of circRNA hsa_circ_0020095 in CC remains largely unclear.

Expression levels of the related circRNAs, microRNAs and mRNA in CC tissues and cells were determined. The impacts of circ_0020095 or miR-487a-3p on CC cells were examined at the indicated times after transfection. Meanwhile, a luciferase-reporter experiment was employed to validate the interplay between miR-487a-3p and circ_002009695 or SOX9. Moreover, the in vivo tumor growth assay was applied to further evaluate the effects of circ_0020095 knockdown on CC progression.

We demonstrated that circ_0020095 was highly expressed in CC tissues and cells. The proliferation, migration, invasion, and cisplatin resistance of CC were suppressed by silencing circ_0020095 in vitro and in vivo or by ectopic expression of miR-487a-3p in vitro. Mechanistically, circ_0020095 could directly bind to miR-487a-3p and subsequently act as a miR-487a-3p sponge to modulate the activity by targeting the 3′-UTR of SOX9. Interestingly, overexpression of circ_0020095 dramatically reversed the suppressive effects of miR-487a-3p mimics on CC cells.

Circ_0020095 functions as an oncogene to accelerate CC cell proliferation, invasion, migration and cisplatin resistance through the miR-487a-3p/SOX9 axis, which could be a promising target for CC treatment.

结肠癌 (CC) 目前是全球第三大最常见的人类癌症，发病率不断增加，预后不良。最近，据报道环状 RNA 可调节多种人类癌症的进展。然而，circRNA hsa_circ_0020095 在 CC 中的作用仍不清楚。

测定CC组织和细胞中相关circRNA、microRNA和mRNA的表达水平。在转染后的指定时间检查 circ_0020095 或 miR-487a-3p 对 CC 细胞的影响。同时，采用荧光素酶报告基因实验来验证 miR-487a-3p 与 circ_002009695 或 SOX9 之间的相互作用。此外，体内应用肿瘤生长试验进一步评估 circ_0020095 敲低对 CC 进展的影响。

我们证明了 circ_0020095 在 CC 组织和细胞中高度表达。沉默 circ_0020095 抑制 CC 的增殖、迁移、侵袭和顺铂耐药性体外和体内或通过 miR-487a-3p 的异位表达体外. 从机制上讲，circ_0020095 可以直接与 miR-487a-3p 结合，随后充当 miR-487a-3p 海绵，通过靶向 SOX9 的 3'-UTR 来调节活性。有趣的是，circ_0020095 的过表达显着逆转了 miR-487a-3p 模拟物对 CC 细胞的抑制作用。

Circ_0020095 作为癌基因通过 miR-487a-3p/SOX9 轴加速 CC 细胞增殖、侵袭、迁移和顺铂耐药，这可能是 CC 治疗的一个有希望的靶点。