Fig. 6

The circNRIP1-miR-149-5p-AKT1/mTOR axis is responsible for the altered metabolism in GC cells and promotes GC development. a. Knockdown of circNRIP1 and miR-149-5p significantly reversed the expression levels of AKT1/mTOR pathway molecules, certain metabolism markers and EMT markers achieved by knocking down only circNRIP1 in MKN-45 and BGC-823 cells. b. We observed that the reduction of GC cell proliferation mediated by circNRIP1 knockdown was successfully blocked by miR-149-5p inhibition, scale bar = 100 μm. c. We observed that the reduction of metastasis of GC cells mediated by circNRIP1 knockdown was successfully blocked by miR-149-5p inhibition, scale bar = 100 μm. d. Knocking down both miR-149-5p and circNRIP1 reversed the inhibition of GC organoid growth achieved by only knocking down circNRIP1, scale bar = 50 nm. e. We found that knockdown of circNRIP1 and miR-149-5p significantly reversed the downregulated expression levels of AKT1 in the GC organoid models relative to the circNRIP1 inhibition group, scale bar = 50 μm. All data are presented as the mean ± SEM. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001