LncRNA AB073614 regulates proliferation and metastasis of colorectal cancer cells via the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway

The expression profiles of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in colorectal cancer (CRC) have remained unclear. LncRNA AB073614 is known to be upregulated in ovarian cancer and glioma tissues, and is associated with the occurrence and progression of those cancers. In the present study, we investigated the lncRNA AB073614 gene expression patterns in CRC cell lines and tissue samples from CRC patients, and then analyzed them for possible associations with various clinicopathological characteristics. Furthermore, the roles played by lncRNA AB073614 in CRC cell proliferation, apoptosis, cell cycle progression, migration, and invasion were examined in vitro by using gene knockdown and overexpression techniques. We detected the levels of lncRNA AB073614 in 28 paired CRC tissues and adjacent normal tissues by qRT-PCR, and our results revealed that AB073614 expression in 85.7% (24/28) of the CRC tissues was significantly higher than those in the paired normal tissues. Furthermore, the levels of AB073614 were closely related to tumor grade, size, cell differentiation status, and the presence of distant metastases. Knockdown of AB073614 expression significantly inhibited the proliferation, migration, and invasion of SW480 cells, and resulted in their increased rates of apoptosis and G1 phase cell cycle arrest, whereas overexpression of AB073614 produced the opposite effects. Finally, results of studies which used an agonist (740Y-P) and an inhibitor (LY294002) of the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway, as well as the results of western blot assays, indicated that lncRNA AB073614 exerts its effects by targeting the PI3K/AKT-mediated signaling pathway. Taken together, our data indicate that lncRNA AB073614 acts to prevent CRC progression by affecting the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway, and may be useful as a novel prognostic or treatment agent for CRC.