Long non-coding RNA ABHD11-AS1 promotes colorectal cancer development through regulation of miR-133a/SOX4 axis

Recently, lncRNA has been verified to regulate the development and progression of tumor. LncRNA ABHD11-AS1 has been proven to serve as an oncogene in several cancers. However, the role of ABHD11-AS1 in colorectal cancer remains totally unknown. In the present study, qRT-PCR assay revealed that ABHD11-AS1 expression was markedly higher in colorectal cancer tissues and cell lines. In addition, patients who displayed overexpression of ABHD11-AS1 showed a significantly poorer progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) by Kaplan–Meier analysis. Loss-of-function experiments suggested that silencing of ABHD11-AS1 expression could significantly reduce the proliferation, colony formation, migration and invasion of colorectal cancer cells, and increase cell apoptosis. Moreover, bioinformatics analysis, biotin pull-down assay, luciferase reporter assay, and RIP assay disclosed that ABHD11-AS1 straightly interacted with miR-133a. We also found that SOX4 was a downstream target of miR-133a and ABHD11-AS1 subsequently exerted its biological effects via modulating the expression of SOX4 in colorectal cancer cells. Collectively, these findings manifested that the ABHD11-AS1/miR-133a/SOX4 axis may be a cogitable and promising therapeutic target for colorectal cancer.