Wang J, Liang Y, Qin Y, Jiang G, Peng Y, Feng W. circCRKL, a circRNA derived from CRKL, regulates BCR-ABL via sponging miR-877-5p to promote chronic myeloid leukemia cell proliferation.
J Transl Med 2022;
20:395. [PMID:
36058922 PMCID:
PMC9440867 DOI:
10.1186/s12967-022-03586-2]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2022] [Accepted: 08/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Background
The BCR-ABL fusion protein is the key factor that results in the occurrence of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). Imatinib (IM) is a targeted inhibitor of BCR-ABL to achieve complete remission. However, remission failure occurs due to acquired resistance caused by secondary BCR-ABL mutations, underlining the need for novel BCR-ABL-targeting strategies. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) derived from tumor-related genes have been revealed as possible therapeutic targets for relevant cancers in recent investigations. In CML, the roles of this kind of circRNA are yet obscure.
Methods
Firstly, RT-qPCR was used for determining circCRKL expression level in cell lines and clinical samples, RNase R and Actinomycin D were employed to verify the stability of circCRKL. Then shRNAs were designed to specifically knockdown circCRKL. The function of circCRKL in vitro was investigated using CCK-8, colony formation assay, and flow cytometry, while a CML mouse model was constructed to explore the function in vivo. Finally, a dual-luciferase reporter assay, RNA pull-down, RNA immunoprecipitation, and rescue experiments were conducted to investigate the mechanism of circCRKL functioning.
Results
Here, we determined circCRKL, which derives from CML-relevant gene CRKL, is over-expressed in BCR-ABL+ cells. Then we noticed knocking down circCRKL using shRNA lentivirus dampens the proliferation of BCR-ABL+ cells both in vitro and in vivo, and augments susceptibility of resistant cells to IM. Intriguingly, we observed that circCRKL has a considerable impact on the expression level of BCR-ABL. Mechanistically, circCRKL could behave like a decoy for miR-877-5p to enhance the BCR-ABL level, allowing BCR-ABL+ cells to maintain viability.
Conclusions
Overall, the current study uncovers that circCRKL is specifically expressed and regulates BCR-ABL expression level via decoying miR-877-5p in BCR-ABL+ cells, highlighting that targeting circCRKL along with imatinib treatment could be utilized as a potential therapeutic strategy for CML patients.
Supplementary Information
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12967-022-03586-2.
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