CircIL4R activates the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway via the miR-761/TRIM29/PHLPP1 axis and promotes proliferation and metastasis in colorectal cancer.

Accumulating studies have revealed that aberrant expression of circular RNAs (circRNAs) is widely involved in the tumorigenesis and progression of malignant cancers, including colorectal cancer (CRC). Nevertheless, the clinical significance, levels, features, biological function, and molecular mechanisms of novel circRNAs in CRC remain largely unexplored. CRC-related circRNAs were identified through bioinformatics analysis and verified in clinical specimens by qRT-PCR and in situ hybridization (ISH). Then, in vitro and in vivo experiments were performed to determine the clinical significance of, functional roles of, and clinical characteristics associated with circIL4R in CRC specimens and cells. Mechanistically, RNA pull-down, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), luciferase reporter, and ubiquitination assays were performed to confirm the underlying mechanism of circIL4R. CircIL4R was upregulated in CRC cell lines and in sera and tissues from CRC patients and was positively correlated with advanced clinicopathological features and poor prognosis. Functional experiments demonstrated that circIL4R promotes CRC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion via the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. Mechanistically, circIL4R was regulated by TFAP2C and competitively interacted with miR-761 to enhance the expression of TRIM29, thereby targeting PHLPP1 for ubiquitin-mediated degradation to activate the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway and consequently facilitate CRC progression. Our findings demonstrate that upregulation of circIL4R plays an oncogenic role in CRC progression and may serve as a promising diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for CRC detection and as a potential therapeutic target for CRC treatment.

Jiang T ，Wang H ，Liu L ，Song H ，Zhang Y ，Wang J ，Liu L ，Xu T ，Fan R ，Xu Y ，Wang S ，Shi L ，Zheng L ，Wang R ，Song J ... -  《Molecular Cancer》

CircRNA_0000392 promotes colorectal cancer progression through the miR-193a-5p/PIK3R3/AKT axis.

Xu H ，Liu Y ，Cheng P ，Wang C ，Liu Y ，Zhou W ，Xu Y ，Ji G ... -  《JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL & CLINICAL CANCER RESEARCH》

LINC01296/miR-26a/GALNT3 axis contributes to colorectal cancer progression by regulating O-glycosylated MUC1 via PI3K/AKT pathway.

Liu B ，Pan S ，Xiao Y ，Liu Q ，Xu J ，Jia L ... -  《JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL & CLINICAL CANCER RESEARCH》

MYSM1 inhibits human colorectal cancer tumorigenesis by activating miR-200 family members/CDH1 and blocking PI3K/AKT signaling.

Histone epigenetic modification disorder is an important predisposing factor for the occurrence and development of many cancers, including colorectal cancer (CRC). The role of MYSM1, a metalloprotease that deubiquitinates monoubiquitinated histone H2A, in colorectal cancer was identified to evaluate its potential clinical application value. MYSM1 expression levels in CRC cell lines and tumor tissues were detected, and their associations with patient survival rate and clinical stage were analyzed using databases and tissue microarrays. Gain- and loss-of-function studies were performed to identify the roles of MYSM1 in CRC cell proliferation, apoptosis, cell cycle progression, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and metastasis in vitro and in vivo. ChIP, rescue assays and signal pathway verification were conducted for mechanistic study. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was used to further assess the relationship of MYSM1 with CRC diagnosis and prognosis. MYSM1 was significantly downregulated and was related to the overall survival (OS) of CRC patients. MYSM1 served as a CRC suppressor by inducing apoptosis and inhibiting cell proliferation, EMT, tumorigenic potential and metastasis. Mechanistically, MYSM1 directly bound to the promoter region of miR-200/CDH1, impaired the enrichment of repressive H2AK119ub1 modification and epigenetically enhanced miR-200/CDH1 expression. Testing of paired CRC patient samples confirmed the positive regulatory relationship between MYSM1 and miR-200/CDH1. Furthermore, silencing MYSM1 stimulated PI3K/AKT signaling and promoted EMT in CRC cells. More importantly, a positive association existed between MYSM1 expression and a favorable CRC prognosis. MYSM1 plays essential suppressive roles in CRC tumorigenesis and is a potential target for reducing CRC progression and distant metastasis.

Chen X ，Wang W ，Li Y ，Huo Y ，Zhang H ，Feng F ，Xi W ，Zhang T ，Gao J ，Yang F ，Chen S ，Yang A ，Wang T ... -  《JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL & CLINICAL CANCER RESEARCH》

Long noncoding RNA SNHG14 accelerates cell proliferation, migration, invasion and suppresses apoptosis in colorectal cancer cells by targeting miR-944/KRAS axis through PI3K/AKT pathway.

Pei Q ，Liu GS ，Li HP ，Zhang Y ，Xu XC ，Gao H ，Zhang W ，Li T ... -  《-》