Oncogene SCARNA12 as a potential diagnostic biomarker for colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common malignant tumors of the digestive system, and represents a severe threat to the life and health of individuals. Increasing evidence supports the role of small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) as critical regulatory gene in cancer development. Small Cajal body-specific RNAs (scaRNAs), a subtype of snoRNAs, are named for their subcellular localization within Cajal bodies. SCARNA12, which located at the intronic region of PHB2 in chromosome 12p13.31 with 270 nucleotides (nt) in length. It has been reported function as a diagnostic marker for cervical cancer. However, its biological functions and molecular mechanisms in CRC have yet to be elucidated. In this study, bioinformatics analysis revealed that SCARNA12 was highly expressed in CRC and positively correlated with poor prognosis in CRC patients. Additionally, SCARNA12 showed upregulated expression in CRC cell lines and clinical CRC tissue samples. Moreover, SCARNA12 overexpression in SW620 cells accelerated cell proliferation, suppressed the apoptosis rate, and enhanced tumorigenesis in vivo. The knockdown of SCARNA12 expression in HCT116 and HT29 cells resulted in contrasting effects. The functioning of SCARNA12 is mechanically independent of its host gene PHB2. Notably, the overexpression of SCARNA12 activated PI3K/AKT pathway in SW620 cells, and the malignancy degree of CRC cells was attenuated after treatment with MK2206 (a specific AKT inhibitor). Our findings demonstrated that SCARNA12 plays an oncogenic role in CRC progression and can be used as a potential diagnostic biomarker for CRC.