Renal cell carcinoma (RCC), as one of the most common malignant tumors in the urinary system, is featured with high morbidity and mortality. Although the improvement of clinical intervention, such as surgery technology, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy, has been made, the outcomes of RCC patients are still poor. Novel targets for RCC treatment are urgently needed. Recently, circRNA has been in-depth studied and is considered as a promising direction for gene target therapy. In this study, we explored the function of circFOXP1 in RCC progression and its underlying mechanisms. Firstly, we demonstrated the characterization and expression of circFOXP1 in RCC tissues and cells. Next, by conducting a serial experiment, we found that downregulated circFOXP1 inhibited cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and the Warburg effect. Next, our experiments found that circFOXP1 upregulated U2AF2 expression via sponging miR-423-5p in RCC cells. Moreover, we found that ZNF263 induced circFOXP1 expression in RCC cells. To sum up, our study partially demonstrated that the novel ZNF263/circFOXP1/miR-423-5p/U2AF2 axis has a role in RCC progression. Our results might provide a new direction for RCC therapeutic target exploring.

中文翻译：

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ZNF263 诱导的环状 RNA FOXP1 通过海绵化 miR-423-5p 上调 U2AF2 表达以加速肾细胞​​癌的发生和 Warburg 效应

肾细胞癌（RCC）作为泌尿系统最常见的恶性肿瘤之一，具有高发病率和高死亡率的特点。尽管手术技术、化疗、放疗等临床干预措施有所改进，但肾细胞癌患者的预后仍然较差。迫切需要新的 RCC 治疗靶点。近年来，circRNA得到了深入研究，被认为是基因靶向治疗的一个有希望的方向。在本研究中，我们探讨了 circFOXP1 在 RCC 进展中的功能及其潜在机制。首先，我们展示了 circFOXP1 在 RCC 组织和细胞中的表征和表达。接下来，通过进行一系列实验，我们发现下调的 circFOXP1 抑制了细胞增殖、迁移、侵袭和 Warburg 效应。下一个，我们的实验发现，circFOXP1 通过海绵化 RCC 细胞中的 miR-423-5p 上调 U2AF2 的表达。此外，我们发现 ZNF263 在 RCC 细胞中诱导 circFOXP1 表达。综上所述，我们的研究部分证明了新的 ZNF263/circFOXP1/miR-423-5p/U2AF2 轴在 RCC 进展中起作用。我们的研究结果可能为肾细胞癌治疗靶点探索提供新方向。