Long non-coding RNA SPRY4-IT1 pormotes colorectal cancer metastasis by regulate epithelial-mesenchymal transition

// Fei Shen 1 , Wen-Song Cai 1 , Zhe Feng 1 , Ji-wei Chen 1 , Jian-hua Feng 1 , Qi-cai Liu 2 , Yong-ping Fang 3 , Kun-ping Li 3 , Huan-qing Xiao 1 , Jie Cao 1 , Bo Xu 1 1 Department of General Surgery, Guangzhou First People's Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, P.R. China 2 Experimental Medical Research Center, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, P.R. China 3 Department of General Surgery, Huizhou First People's Hospital, Huizhou, P.R. China Correspondence to: Jie Cao, email: jiecaodoctor@163.com Bo Xu, email: gzsrmxu@yeah.net Keywords: SPRY4-IT1, LncRNA, CRC, metastasis, EMT Received: March 28, 2016      Accepted: June 17, 2016      Published: July 06, 2016 ABSTRACT Colorectal cancer (CRC) remains one of the most common cancers worldwide. Increasing evidence indicates that SPRY4 intronic transcript 1 (SPRY4-IT1) regulate cell growth, differentiation, apoptosis, and cancer progression. However, the expression and function of SPRY4-IT1 in the progression of CRC remains largely unknown. Here, we reported that SPRY4-IT1 was upregulated in CRC. Increased SPRY4-IT1 expression in CRC was associated with larger tumor size and higher clinical stage. In vitro experiments revealed that SPRY4-IT1 knockdown significantly inhibited CRC cell proliferation by causing G1 arrest and promoting apoptosis, whereas SPRY4-IT1 overexpression promoted cell proliferation. Further functional assays indicated that SPRY4-IT1 overexpression significantly promoted cell migration and invasion by regulate the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Taken together, our study demonstrates that SPRY4-IT1 could act as a functional oncogene in CRC, as well as a potential therapeutic target to inhibit CRC metastasis.