Loss of ZG16 is regulated by miR-196a and contributes to stemness and progression of colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common malignant tumour and the leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. Clarification of the mechanism that underlies CRC tumorigenesis and progression therefore is urgently needed ffor developing novel therapies. Through analysis of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) dataset, we identified an interesting gene, ZG16, which is significantly decreased in CRC samples compared to adjacent non-tumor tissues and associated with prognosis of patients. We found that the expression of ZG16 correlated with CRC related genes which were regulated by APC/CTNNB1 pathway. Interestingly, the expression of ZG16 was negatively correlated with CRC stem cell marker, LGR5. Overexpression of ZG16 significantly inhibits growth and sphere formation of stem-like CRC cells. Moreover, we also identified an upstream regulator of ZG16, miR-196a, which was significantly overexpressed in CRC and promotes cell growth and stemness. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that loss of ZG16 is regulated by miR-196a and contributes to stemness and progression of CRC, which may provide a promising therapeutic strategy for advanced CRCs.