AUTHOR=Zhuo Han , Xia Jinguo , Zhang Jin , Tang Junwei , Han Sheng , Zheng Qitong , Zhu Deming , Zhang Feihong , Xu Zhenggang , Sun Dongwei , Tan Zhongming , Wu Chen 

TITLE=CircASPH Promotes Hepatocellular Carcinoma Progression Through Methylation and Expression of HAO2

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Oncology

VOLUME=Volume 12 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/oncology/articles/10.3389/fonc.2022.911715

DOI=10.3389/fonc.2022.911715

ISSN=2234-943X

ABSTRACT=CircRNAs have been reported to be related to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development. Limited studies have revealed the expression profile of circRNAs in tumor and paratumour normal samples in HCC patients. We found that circASPH was significantly increased in HCC tumor samples and that the level of circASPH was closely related to the overall survival (OS) of HCC patients. Mechanistically, circASPH could regulate the methylation of promoter and gene expression of Hydrocyanic Oxidase 2 (HAO2) to promote HCC progression by acting as a sponge for miR-370, which targeted the DNMT3b and increased the 5mC level. In summary, our study determined that circASPH could promote the methylation and expression of HAO2 and could be considered an important epigenetic regulator in HCC progression.