Circular RNA_LARP4 inhibits cell proliferation and invasion of nasopharyngeal carcinoma by repressing ROCK1.

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is one of the most ordinary malignant tumors. Recent studies have revealed that circular RNAs play an important role in the progression of tumorigenesis. This study aims to identify how circular RNA_LARP4 functions in the progression of NPC.We performed Real Time quantitative-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-qPCR) in 58 paired NPC patients' tissue samples and cell lines to detect circular RNA_LARP4 expression. The function of circular RNA_LARP4 in the NPC proliferation was identified by performing proliferation assay and colony formation assay. Moreover, the function of circular RNA_LARP4 in NPC metastasis was measured by performing scratch wound assay and transwell assay in vitro. Furthermore, the underlying mechanism was explored through Western blot assay and RT-qPCR.Circular RNA_LARP4 expression was significantly lower in NPC tissues compared to that in adjacent samples. Cell proliferation of NPC was inhibited after overexpression of circular RNA_LARP4 in vitro. Cell migration and invasion of NPC was inhibited after overexpression of circular RNA_LARP4 in vitro. Furthermore, the results of further experiments revealed that Rho-associated kinase 1 (ROCK1) was downregulated via overexpression of circular RNA_LARP4 and was also a direct target of circular RNA_LARP4 in NPC.This study suggests that circular RNA_LARP4 inhibits NPC cell proliferation and metastasis via targeting ROCK1 in vitro.