This study is a step towards addressing the potential of miR-375, miR-145 and miR-224 expression modulation to inhibit colorectal carcinoma (CRC) cells migration in vitro through regulation of non-target genes VEGFA, TGFβ1, IGF1, CD105 and CD44.
A screening of prognosis-mediated miRNAs underlined that the overexpression of miR-224 promotes CRC metastasis, and is associated with high stage and poor survival.
As far as the present researches are concerned, tissue miR-224 has a significantly prognostic value in various cancers, especially in CRC, DLBCL and GC.
Patients with high miR-224 levels display shorter overall survival in multiple CRC cohorts (p=0.0259, 0.0137, 0.0207, 0.0181, 0.0331 and 0.0037, respectively), and shorter metastasis-free survival (HR 6.51, 95% CI 1.97 to 21.51, p=0.0008).
There are reduced expression of miR-29a, miR-223, and miR-224 in the feces from the CRC patients, which could be an informative biomarker for screening and early diagnosis of CRC.
MicroRNA-224 is associated with colorectal cancer progression and response to 5-fluorouracil-based chemotherapy by KRAS-dependent and -independent mechanisms.
More specifically, the down-regulation of miR-451, miR-625, miR-29c, miR-126, miR-129 and miR133 is purported to be a poor prognostic factor, while miR-224 was overexpressed in CRC.
Increased activities of miR-221* and miR-224 reduce growth and metastasis of CRC xenograft tumors in mice; these miRs might be developed as therapeutic reagents or biomarkers of CRC progression.