Silencing of ANKRD12 circRNA induces molecular and functional changes associated with invasive phenotypes

Karedath, T.; Ahmed, I.; Al Ameri, W.; Al-Dasim, F.; Andrews, S. S.; Samuel, S.; Al Azwani, I. K.; Ali Mohamoud, Y.; Rafii, A.; Malek, J. A.

doi:10.1101/366245

bioRxiv · 10.1101/366245

Silencing of ANKRD12 circRNA induces molecular and functional changes associated with invasive phenotypes

Karedath, T.·Ahmed, I.·Al Ameri, W.·Al-Dasim, F.·Andrews, S. S.·Samuel, S.·Al Azwani, I. K.·Ali Mohamoud, Y.·Rafii, A.·Malek, J. A.

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Abstract

Circular RNAs (circRNA) that form through non-canonical backsplicing events of pre-mRNA transcripts are evolutionarily conserved and abundantly expressed across species. However, the functional relevance of circRNAs remains a topic of debate. In this study, we identified and characterized a circular RNA derived from Exon 2 and Exon 8 of the ANKRD12 gene, termed here as circANKRD12. We show that this circRNA is abundantly expressed in breast and ovarian cancers. The circANKRD12 is RNase R resistant and predominantly localized in the cytoplasm in contrast to its source gene mRNA. We confirmed the expression of this circRNA across a variety of cancer cell lines and provide evidence for its functional relevance through downstream regulation of several tumor invasion genes. We show that silencing of circANKRD12 induces a phenotypic change by significantly regulating cell cycle, increasing invasion and migration, altering the metabolism in cancer cells. These results reveal the functional significance of circANKRD12 and provide evidence of a regulatory role for this circRNA in cancer progression.

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Karedath, T., Ahmed, I., Al Ameri, W., Al-Dasim, F., Andrews, S. S., Samuel, S., Al Azwani, I. K., Ali Mohamoud, Y., Rafii, A., Malek, J. A.. 2018-07-10. Silencing of ANKRD12 circRNA induces molecular and functional changes associated with invasive phenotypes. https://doi.org/10.1101/366245

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