Circular RNA circ-ABCB10 promotes breast cancer proliferation and progression through sponging miR-1271.

Circular RNA (circRNA) is a key regulator in the development and progression of human cancers, however its role in breast cancer tumorigenesis is not well understood. The present study aims to investigate the expression profiles and potential modulation of circRNA on breast cancer carcinogenesis. Human circRNA microarray was performed to screen for abnormally expressed circRNA in breast cancer tissue. Results found circ-ABCB10, was significantly up-regulated in breast cancer tissue. And results were replicated in a larger sample size. <i>In vitro</i>, loss-of-function experiments showed circ-ABCB10 knockdown suppressed the proliferation and increased apoptosis of breast cancer cells. Bioinformatics prediction program predicted the complementary sequence within circ-ABCB10 and miR-1271, which was validated by luciferase reporter assay. Finally, miR-1271 rescued the function of circ-ABCB10 on breast cancer cells, confirming the sponge effect of circ-ABCB10 on miR-1271. Overall, results identified a new functional circ-ABCB10 in breast cancer tumorigenesis, and reveal the important regulatory role of circ-ABCB10 through sponging miR-1271, providing a novel insight for breast cancer pathogenesis.