Cervical cancer is acknowledged as the most prevalent gynecological tumor and a severe public issue that threatens female health, resulting from its high incidence and fatality rate. Surging evidence have shown that circular RNAs (circRNAs) play significant roles in the initiation and progression of various malignancies. Although circAMOTL1 has been testified to execute oncogenic properties in breast cancer and prostate cancer, literature on its function and regulatory mechanism in cervical cancer development is still scanty. Using a bioinformatics analysis, we found circ_0004214 was a circular form of AMOTL1. Through qRT-PCR analysis, circAMOTL1 and its host gene AMOTL1 were both upregulated in cervical cancer tissues and closely correlated with poor prognosis of cervical cancer. Gain- or loss-of-function assays and in vivo experiments demonstrated that AMOTL1 promoted cervical cancer cell growth both in vitro and in vivo. Mechanically, circAMOTL1 served as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) to prompt the expression of AMOTL1 through sponging miR-485-5p. Rescue assays revealed that miR-485-5p/AMOTL1 axis was involved in circ_AMOTL1-mediated cervical cancer progression. Our findings provide a better understanding of the molecular mechanism underlying circAMOTL1 in cervical cancer and indicated circAMOTL1/miR-485-5p/AMOTL1 as a promising novel therapeutic strategy for the treatment of this disease.

Human papillomaviruses 16 (HPV16) is the primary causative agent of cervical cancer (CC). E6 oncoprotein plays a crucial role in cervical carcinogenesis and commonly cause the dysregulation of the long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) expression. However, the biological function of lncRNAs in HPV16‐related CC remains largely unexplored. In the present study HPV16 E6‐induced differential expression of lncRNAs, miRNA, and mRNA were identified using microarray‐based analysis and verified in tumor r cell lines and tumor tissues, and the function of lncRNA in CC was investigated in vitro and in vivo. We found that an lncRNA, named GABPB1‐AS1, was significantly upregulated in HPV16‐positive CC tissues and cell lines. GABPB1‐AS1 expression in HPV16‐positive CC tissues was positively associated with tumor size, lymph node metastasis, and FIGO stage. High expression of GABPB1‐AS1 was correlated with a poor prognosis for HPV16‐positive CC patients. Functionally, E6‐induced GABPB1‐AS1 overexpression facilitated CC cells proliferation and invasion in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, GABPB1‐AS1 acted as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) by sponging miR‐519e‐5p, resulting in the de‐repression of its target gene Notch2 which is well known as an oncogene. Therefore, GABPB1‐AS1 functioned as a tumor activator in CC pathogenesis by binding to miR‐519e‐5p and destroying its tumor suppressive function. Collectively, current results demonstrate that GABPB1‐AS1 is associated with CC progression, and may be a promising biomarker or target for the clinical management of CC.

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