Fig. 3

Circ-RNF121 bound to miR-1224-5p in HCT-116 and SW480 cells. A StarBase online database was used to predict the putative binding sites of circ-RNF121 for miR-1224-5p. B The efficiency of miR-1224-5p mimic and inhibitor in increasing or decreasing miR-1224-5p expression was determined by qRT-PCR in HCT-116 and SW480 cells. C, D Luciferase activities were detected by dual-luciferase reporter assay in HCT-116 and SW480 cells. E MiR-1224 expression was predicted by TCGA dataset in CRC tissues (N  = 251) and normal colorectal tissues (N  = 7). F, G MiR-1224-5p expression was determined by qRT-PCR in 29 pairs of CRC and paracancerous normal tissues and NCM460, HCT-116 and SW480 cells. H Spearman correlation analysis was performed to determine the linear relationship between circ-RNF121 and miR-1224-5p expression in CRC tissues. I The efficiency of circ-RNF121 overexpression was detected by qRT-PCR in HCT-116 and SW480 cells. J The effects of circ-RNF121 silencing and overexpression on miR-1224-5p expression were determined by qRT-PCR in HCT-116 and SW480 cells. **P  < 0.01, ***P  < 0.001 and ****P  < 0.0001