Upregulation of miR-324-5p Inhibits Proliferation and Invasion of Colorectal Cancer Cells by Targeting ELAVL1.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a common clinical cancer that remains incurable in most cases. miRNAs are reported to play a part in the development of various tumors. In the present study, we found that miR-324-5p was downregulated in CRC cells, while ELAV (embryonic lethal, abnormal vision, Drosophila)-like protein 1 (ELAVL1) showed a higher expression. miR-324-5p transfection significantly inhibited the proliferation as well as invasion in both SW620 and SW480 cells. miR-324-5p mimic transfection markedly decreased the expression of ELAVL1. Luciferase reporter gene assay confirmed that ELAVL1 is a direct target of miR-324-5p. Furthermore, cancer invasion factors uPA, uPAR, and MMP-9 were found to drop significantly in miR-324-5p-transfected groups. To conclude, our findings indicate that miR-324-5p may play a suppressive role in colorectal cell viability and invasion, at least in part, through directly targeting ELAVL1. Therefore, miR-234-5p might function as a promising candidate for CRC treatment and deserves deeper research.