Our study indicated that miR-132 plays an important role in the invasion and metastasis of CRC.

In summary, the in vitro data suggest that paeoniflorin is a potential novel therapeutic agent against gastric carcinoma, which inhibits cell viability and induces apoptosis through the up-regulation of miR-124 and suppression of PI3K/Akt and STAT3 signaling.

Abstract. Colorectal cancer (CRC) has become the third most common cancer worldwide and leads to a high mortality rate. Although colorectal cancer has been studied widely, the underlying molecular mechanism remains unclear. Increasing evidence shows that the abnormal expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) is involved in tumorigenesis. Previous studies have reported that miRNA-103 (miR-103) is dysregulated in CRC; however, the expression, function and mechanism of miR-103 in CRC are not well known. The present study showed that miR-103 was overexpressed in the primary tumor tissues of patients with CRC and was significantly associated with a more aggressive phenotype of CRC in patients. Survival rate analysis demonstrated that CRC patients with high miR-103 expression had a poorer overall survival compared with CRC patients with low miR-103 expression. In CRC cell lines, miR-103 inhibition significantly decreased the proliferation, invasion and migration of the cells in vitro. Furthermore, miR-103 repressed large tumor suppressor kinase 2 (LATS2) expression by directly binding to the LATS2-3'-untranslated region, and an inverse correlation was identified between the expression of miR-103 and LATS2 messenger RNA in primary CRC tissues. In addition, the restoration of LATS2 led to suppressed proliferation, invasion and migration of CRC cells. In vivo, miR-103 promotes tumor growth in nude mice. In summary, miR-103 performs a critical role in the promotion of the invasive and metastatic capacities of CRC, possibly by directly targeting LATS2. This miRNA may be involved in the development and progression of CRC.

Objective: Angiogenesis depends on interaction between a variety of promoting and inhibiting factors, and is known to involve vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) A and the Notch signaling pathway. The present study investigated the expression of Notch ligand delta-like (DLL) 4 (Drosophila), and VEGFA in colon cancer and colorectal adenoma tissue, and the association with tumour angiogenesis. Methods: Protein level DLL4, VEGFA and CD34 molecule (CD34) expression was detected immunohistochemically in tissue sections from patients with colon cancer and colorectal adenoma. Results: Out of 80 cases (35 with colon cancer, 45 with colorectal adenoma) DLL4 and VEGFA expression was closely related to tumour diameter, clinical stage, histological grade and lymph node metastasis. DLL4 expression was significantly higher in colon cancer tissue than colorectal adenoma tissue. Conclusion: High levels of DLL4 expression were closely related to metastasis and prognosis in patients with colon cancer. The results of the present study support the conclusion that prognosis of colon cancer is significantly correlated with angiogenesis.