circPVT1 Promotes Invasion and Migration of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Cells Through The miR-24-3p/let-7a-5p/FSCN1 Axis

Objective The study aims to explore the role and molecular mechanism of circPVT1 in invasion and migration of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), a malignant tumor originating from nasopharyngeal epithelium with the clinical feature of lymph node metastasis. circPVT1, a circular RNA formed by back splicing of exon 2 of PVT1 gene, has been found to be upregulated in various tumors and plays an important role in tumorigenesis. The study investigated the role and molecular mechanism of circPVT1 in invasion and migration of NPC cells.Methods We detected the expression of circPVT1 and its downstream miRNAs and FSCN1 in NPC cells using RT-qPCR, and evaluated the effect of circPVT1 on NPC cell invasion and migration using Transwell and scratch healing experiments. RNA pull-down experiment was used to detect the miRNAs bound by circPVT1, and the dual luciferase reporter assay was used to detect the targeting of FSCN1 mRNA by miR-24-3p and let-7a-5p.Results The study found that overexpression of circPVT1 in NPC cells can promote invasion and migration, while knockdown of circPVT1 can inhibit NPC cells invasion and migration. Further studies revealed that circPVT1 upregulates the expression of FSCN1 by competitively adsorbing miR-24-3p and let-7a-5p.Conclusion circPVT1 promotes invasion and migration of NPC cells through the miR-24-3p/let-7a-5p/FSCN1 axis, and is an important driving factor in the development of NPC.