MicroRNA-592 promotes cell proliferation, migration and invasion in colorectal cancer by directly targeting SPARC

Colorectal cancer (CRC), one of the most common cancer types, causes a large number of cancer-related mortalities annually worldwide. Dysregulated microRNAs (miRNAs/miR) are closely associated with the malignant progression of CRC. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the expression and regulatory role of miR-592 in CRC. It was found that miR-592 expression was significantly elevated in CRC tissues and cell lines, and was associated with the prognosis of patients. Cellular phenotype assays demonstrated that miR-592 could promote CRC cell proliferation, migration and invasion. Bioinformatics analysis demonstrated that miR-592 mainly participated in the positive regulation of transcription, as well as the regulation of cell motility. Moreover, miR-592 targets were enriched in several signaling pathways, such as the ‘mTOR’ and ‘FoxO’ signaling pathways. In addition, secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC) was identified as a target of miR-592 in CRC. The present results suggested that miR-592 acts as an oncogene in CRC, in part, by directly inhibiting SPARC expression. Collectively, the present study provides a novel potential therapeutic strategy for CRC.