Identification and development of long non-coding RNA-associated regulatory network in colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the leading causes of cancer-associated death globally. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been identified as micro RNA (miRNA) sponges in a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network and are involved in the regulation of mRNA expression. This study aims to construct a lncRNA-associated ceRNA network and investigate the prognostic biomarkers in CRC. A total of 38 differentially expressed (DE) lncRNAs, 23 DEmiRNAs and 27 DEmRNAs were identified by analysing the expression profiles of CRC obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). These RNAs were chosen to develop a ceRNA regulatory network of CRC, which comprised 125 edges. Survival analysis showed that four lncRNAs, six miRNAs and five mRNAs were significantly associated with overall survival. A potential regulatory axis of ADAMTS9-AS2/miR-32/PHLPP2 was identified from the network. Experimental validation was performed using clinical samples by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), which showed that expression of the genes in the axis was associated with clinicopathological features and the correlation among them perfectly conformed to the 'ceRNA theory'. Overexpression of ADAMTS9-AS2 in colon cancer cell lines significantly inhibited the miR-32 expression and promoted PHLPP2 expression, while ADAMTS9-AS2 knockdown had the opposite effects. The constructed novel ceRNA network may provide a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms of CRC carcinogenesis. The ADAMTS9-AS2/miR-32/PHLPP2 regulatory axis may serve as a potential therapeutic target for CRC.