The long non-coding RNA HOXA11-AS promotes epithelial mesenchymal transition by sponging miR-149-3p in Colorectal Cancer

Background: Metastasis is the primary cause of death in colorectal cancer (CRC); the underlying mechanisms remain partly unknown. In this study, we aim to investigate the value of HOXA11-AS in survival evaluation and the potential role of HOXA11-AS/miR-149-3p axis in the CRC metastasis. Methods: The expressions of HOXA11-AS, both in obtained CRC samples and adjacent noncancerous tissues, were analyzed in survival evaluation. Competing endogenous RNAs (CeRNAs) Analysis were employed to reveal the potential relationship between HOXA11-AS and miR-149-3p. It was further confirmed by Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Dual-luciferase reporter assay. Migration and invasion assay were used to verify the potential role of HOXA11-AS and miR-149-3p in the regulation of CRC metastasis. The potential pathway was explored by Western blot analysis. Results: The expression of HOXA11-AS in the CRC tissue is significantly higher than the expression in adjacent noncancerous tissue (p< 0.0001). High expressions of HOXA11-AS were noticeably correlated with clinicopathologic characteristics including advanced clinical stage (p=0.021), larger tumor size (p< 0.001) and frequent tumor recurrence (p=0.001). The overall survival in HOXA11-AS-High group was significantly shorter than the HOXA11-AS-Low group (p< 0.001). Advanced clinical stage, tumor size and high expression of HOXA11-AS were showed as independent prognostic prediction factors for the 5-year tumor relapse of CRC patients (p< 0.001). HOXA11-AS acts as a potential molecular sponge for miR-149-3p, in the promotion of CRC metastasis. In the miR-149-3p mimic-treated group, the expression of E-cadherin was increased, whereas the expression of N-cadherin, Snail, Slug, TGF-β1, Wnt2b, Twist and C/EBPβ was decreased. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that high expression of HOXA11-AS is correlated with CRC progression and poor prognosis and may promote metastasis via EMT by modulating miR-149-3p.