miR-654-5p Targets HAX-1 to Regulate the Malignancy Behaviors of Colorectal Cancer Cells

Introduction. The biological roles of microRNA-654-5p (miR-654-5p) in cancers have been previously reported. However, its role in colorectal cancer (CRC) remains largely unknown. The purpose of this work was to investigate the roles and associated mechanisms in CRC. METHODS: Quantitative Real-Time PCR (qRT-PCR) was utilized to explore the expression pattern of miR-654-5p in CRC cells. Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay, wound-healing assay, and transwell invasion assay were conducted to investigate the effects of miR-654-5p on CRC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, respectively. Moreover, the mechanisms behind miR-654-5p regulates CRC progression were investigated. RESULTS: Compared with normal cell line, miR-654-5p expression level was significantly suppressed in CRC cells. After overexpression of miR-654-5p, the malignancy behaviors of CRC cells including cell proliferation, migration, and invasion were remarkably decreased. Subsequently, we found hematopoietic cell-specific protein 1-associated protein X-1 (HAX-1) was a putative target for miR-654-5p. Rescue experiments showed overexpression of HAX-1 could partially reversed the effects of miR-654-4p on CRC cell events. CONCLUSION: miR-654-5p was reduced expression in CRC cells and could regulate CRC progression via targeting HAX-1.