Abstract
Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have emerged as important regulators of cancer, including colorectal cancer (CRC). The exact expression pattern of long intergenic noncoding RNA 00312 (LINC00312) in CRC and its mechanisms of action have not been reported. Here, we found that LINC00312 is underexpressed in CRC tissues and cell lines. Functional experiments suggested that LINC00312 suppresses growth, migration and invasion of CRC cells in vitro and attenuates tumour proliferation and metastasis in vivo. Mechanistically, LINC00312 was found to regulate the malignancy of CRC cells by binding to miR-21 and by functioning as a tumour suppressor targeting PTEN. Overexpression of miR-21 or knockdown of PTEN attenuated the LINC00312-mediated inhibition of CRC cell proliferation and invasion. Taken together, our results elucidate the role of the LINC00312-miR-21-PTEN axis in CRC cell proliferation and tumour progression and may lead to new lncRNA-based diagnostics or therapeutics for CRC.