Long non‑coding RNA ZFPM2‑AS1 promotes colorectal cancer progression by sponging miR‑137 to regulate TRIM24

Accumulating evidence indicates that long non‑coding RNAs (lncRNAs) may serve essential roles during tumorigenesis of colorectal cancer (CRC). The lncRNA ZFPM2‑AS1 was observed to be involved in the progression of numerous types of cancer, such as lung adenocarcinoma and cervical cancer. The aim of the present study was to investigate the expression levels and function of ZFPM2‑AS1 in CRC. Expression levels of ZFPM2‑AS1 in tissue and CRC cells were measured by reverse transcription‑quantitative PCR. Furthermore, cell proliferation and Transwell assays were conducted to investigate the functional role of ZFPM2‑AS1 in vitro. In addition, bioinformatics analysis, luciferase reporter assay, RNA immunoprecipitation assay and western blotting were performed to explore the possible underlying mechanism. The expression levels of ZFPM2‑AS1 were significantly upregulated in tissue samples from patients with CRC and CRC cell lines compared with normal tissue and normal human colorectal mucosa cell line. Notably, the upregulation of ZFPM2‑AS1 was significantly associated with tumor size, histological differentiation, lymph node metastasis and TNM stage. In addition, ZFPM2‑AS1 knockdown significantly inhibited cell proliferation, migration and invasion compared with the control group in vitro. Moreover, it was found that ZFPM2‑AS1 positively regulated tripartite motif containing 24 (TRIM24) expression by sponging miR‑137. In conclusion, the present study indicated that ZFPM2‑AS1 may serve as an oncogene in CRC by regulating the miR‑137/TRIM24 axis.