< em > circPVT1 < /em > promotes silica-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition by modulating the miR-497-5p/TCF3 axis

J Biomed Res. 2023 Jul 3:163-174. doi: 10.7555/JBR.37.20220249. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTEpithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a vital pathological feature of silica-induced pulmonary fibrosis. However, whether circRNA is involved in the process remains unclear. The present study aimed to investigate the role of circPVT1 in the silica-induced EMT and the underlying mechanisms. We found that an elevated expression of circPVT1 promoted EMT and enhanced the migratory capacity of silica-treated epithelial cells. The isolation of cytoplasmic and nuclear separation assay showed that circPVT1 was predominantly expressed in the cytoplasm. RNA immunoprecipitation assay and RNA pull-down experiment indicated that cytoplasmic-localized circPVT1 was capable of binding to miR-497-5p. Furthermore, we found that miR-497-5p attenuated the silica-induced EMT process by targeting transcription factor 3 (TCF3), an E-cadherin transcriptional repressor, in the silica-treated epithelial cells. Collectively, these results reveal a novel role of the circPVT1/miR-497-5p/TCF3 axis in the silica-induced EMT process in lung epithelial cells. Once validated, this finding may provide a potential theoretical basis for the development of interventions and treatments for pulmonary fibrosis.PMID:38529638 | DOI:10.7555/JBR.37.20220249

Source: Biomed Res - March 26, 2024 Category: Research Authors: Siyun Zhou Yan Li Wenqing Sun Dongyu Ma Yi Liu Demin Cheng Guanru Li Chunhui Ni Source Type: research