Exosomal circSHKBP1 promotes gastric cancer progression via regulating the miR-582-3p/HUR/VEGF axis and suppressing HSP90 degradation

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) play important regulatory roles in the development of various cancers. However, biological functions and the underlying molecular mechanism of circRNAs in gastric cancer (GC) remain obscure.

Differentially expressed circRNAs were identified by RNA sequencing. The biological functions of circSHKBP1 in GC were investigated by a series of in vitro and in vivo experiments. The expression of circSHKBP1 was evaluated using quantitative real-time PCR and RNA in situ hybridization, and the molecular mechanism of circSHKBP1 was demonstrated by western blot, RNA pulldown, RNA immunoprecipitation, luciferase assays and rescue experiments. Lastly, mouse xenograft and bioluminescence imaging were used to exam the clinical relevance of circSHKBP1 in vivo.