Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are group of noncoding RNAs derived from back-splicing events. Accumulating evidence certifies the critical roles of circRNAs in human tumorigenesis. However, the role and biogenesis of circRNAs in cervical cancer are still unclear. Here, a novel identified circRNA, circSLC26A4, was found to be upregulated in cervical cancer tissue and cells. Clinically, the high expression of circSLC26A4 was related to the poor survival of cervical cancer patients. Functionally, cellular experiments indicated that circSLC26A4 knockdown repressed the proliferation, invasion, and tumor growth in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, circSLC26A4 acted as the sponge of miR-1287-5p; moreover, miR-1287-5p targeted the 3′ UTR of HOXA7 mRNA. Mechanistically, RNA binding protein (RBP) quaking (QKI) was identified to interact with the QKI response elements (QREs) in SLC26A4 gene introns, thereby promoting circSLC26A4 biogenesis. In conclusion, these findings demonstrate that circSLC26A4 facilitates cervical cancer progression through the QKI/circSLC26A4/miR-1287-5p/HOXA7 axis, which might bring novel therapeutic strategies for cervical cancer.

环状RNA（circRNA）是源自反向剪接事件的一组非编码RNA。越来越多的证据证明circRNA在人类肿瘤发生中的关键作用。但是，尚不清楚circRNA在宫颈癌中的作用和生物发生。在这里，发现一种新型鉴定的circRNA，circSLC26A4在宫颈癌组织和细胞中被上调。在临床上，circSLC26A4的高表达与宫颈癌患者生存率低有关。在功能上，蜂窝实验表明circSLC26A4敲低抑制增殖，侵袭，和肿瘤生长的体外和体内。此外，circSLC26A4充当miR-1287-5p的海绵；此外，miR-1287-5p靶向HOXA7 mRNA的3'UTR。从机制上讲，RNA结合蛋白（RBP）地震（QKI）被确定与SLC26A4基因内含子中的QKI反应元件（QREs）相互作用，从而促进circSLC26A4的生物发生。总之，这些发现表明，circSLC26A4通过QKI / circSLC26A4 / miR-1287-5p / HOXA7轴促进子宫颈癌的进展，这可能会带来新的子宫颈癌治疗策略。