miR-675 promotes colorectal cancer cell growth dependent on tumor suppressor DMTF1

Colorectal cancer (CRC) has become a worldwide health concern, particularly in developing countries. Therefore, the present study focuses on the investigation of oncogenic microRNA (miR)-675-3p, and its role in colorectal carcinogenesis. miR-675-3p expression was either overexpressed or inhibited in SW480 CRC cells in order to demonstrate its positive effect on the cell proliferation, as determined by MTS and flow cytometry. Then the present study utilized a luciferase assay to demonstrate that cyclin D binding myb like transcription factor 1 (DMTF1) was modulated by miR-675-3p directly at its 3′untranslated region. Overexpression or inhibition of miR-675-3p affected the expression of DMTF1, as determined by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blotting. In addition, the overexpression of miR-675-3p promoted cell proliferation, whereas the additional introduction of DMTF1 rescued the overgrowth of the SW480 cells. These results were also confirmed in HT29 CRC cells. In summary, the results of the study demonstrated that miR-675-3p directly regulated the expression of DMTF1, which contributed to the further regulation of CRC cell proliferation.