Biological effects and clinical characteristics of microRNA-106a in human colorectal cancer

MicroRNAs serve important roles in various diseases, particularly cancer. microRNA-106a (miR-106a) exhibits abnormal expression and oncogenic activity in carcinogenesis. The clinical significance of the abnormal expression of miR-106a in colorectal cancer is poorly understood. In the present study, miR-106a expression from colorectal cancer tissues was quantified using the reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The overexpression or knockdown of miR-106a was performed by transfection with microRNA mimic or inhibitor in human colorectal carcinoma HCT116 cells. The overexpression of miR-106a promoted viability and inhibited apoptosis in colorectal cancer cells. The association between miR-106a expression and clinicopathological factors was analyzed, and it was identified that miR-106a exhibited significantly increased expression in adenocarcinoma tissues compared with in mucinous carcinoma tissues, and the expression of miR-106a was identified to be associated with the depth of invasion and differentiation. The expression of miR-106a in plasma was also determined and it was identified that increased expression of miR-106a, as a characteristic of patients with colorectal cancer, may be distinguished from that of other patients by digitization of the areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves. These data suggested that miR-106a is a potential biomarker in the diagnosis of colorectal carcinoma. However, the underlying molecular mechanism of miR-106a-promoted viability and inhibition of apoptosis requires further investigation.