LncRNA ASB16-AS1 drives proliferation, migration, and invasion of colorectal cancer cells through regulating miR-185-5p/TEAD1 axis

As a common malignant tumor, colorectal cancer (CRC) has a high incidence. Recent investigations have suggested that although great improvement has been achieved in the survival rate of early-stage CRC patients, the overall survival rate remains low. Mounting reports have proved that lncRNAs take part in the development of various cancers and possess the regulatory functions in cancers. For example, ASB16 antisense RNA 1 (ASB16-AS1) is a poorly researched novel lncRNA whose specific functions in CRC are still unknown. In our research, we discovered that ASB16-AS1 was with high expression in CRC cells. In addition, ASB16-AS1 silencing restrained the proliferation, migration, invasion, and stemness while accelerating cell apoptosis of CRC cells. Mechanism experiments were applied to explore the regulatory mechanism of ASB16-AS1. It turned out that miR-185-5p could interact with ASB16-AS1 and inhibited the progression of CRC cells. TEAD1 (TEA domain transcription factor1) - a major effector of the Hippo signaling was proved to serve as the target of miR-185-5p and promote CRC development. In short, ASB16-AS1 drove the progression of CRC through the regulation of miR-185-5p/TEAD1 axis.

结直肠癌（colorectal cancer, CRC）作为常见恶性肿瘤，发病率居高不下。现有研究表明，尽管早期CRC患者的生存率已取得显著提升，但总体生存率仍处于较低水平。越来越多的研究证实，长链非编码RNA（long non-coding RNA, lncRNA）参与多种癌症的发生发展，并在肿瘤中发挥调控作用。例如，ASB16反义RNA1（ASB16 antisense RNA 1, ASB16-AS1）是一种研究尚少的新型lncRNA，其在CRC中的具体功能仍未明确。本研究发现，ASB16-AS1在结直肠癌细胞中呈高表达状态。此外，沉默ASB16-AS1可抑制结直肠癌细胞的增殖、迁移、侵袭及干细胞干性，同时促进其凋亡。为探究ASB16-AS1的调控机制，本研究开展了机制实验。结果显示，miR-185-5p可与ASB16-AS1结合，并抑制结直肠癌细胞的恶性进展。TEA结构域转录因子1（TEA domain transcription factor 1, TEAD1）作为Hippo信号通路的核心效应分子，被证实是miR-185-5p的靶基因，可促进CRC的发生发展。综上，ASB16-AS1通过调控miR-185-5p/TEAD1轴促进CRC的恶性进展。