CRC tissues exhibited a significant increase in miR-96-5p expression, compared with their matched normal adjacent tissues, indicating an oncogenic role for miR-96-5p.
In conclusion, the increased plasma GPC1<sup>+</sup> exosomes and reduced plasma miR-96-5p and miR-149 expression are specific markers for the diagnosis of CRC and targets for the therapy of CRC.
Comprehensive analyses showed that plasma miR-96 distinguished stage I-IV CRC from healthy controls with an area under curve (AUC) of 0.740; miR-203 separated stage III-IV CRC patients from stage I-II with an AUC of 0.757; and miR-141 differentiated stage IV CRC from stage I-III patients with an AUC of 0.851.
Previous studies using high-throughput techniques have shown that miR-96 is upregulated in colorectal cancer compared to adjacent normal colorectal tissue.
In conclusion, the results of the present study demonstrated that miR-96 contributed to CRC cell growth and that TP53INP1, FOXO1 and FOXO3a were direct targets of miR-96, suggesting that miR-96 may have the potential to be used in the development of miRNA‑based therapies for CRC patients.
In conclusion, our data suggest that miR-96-5p influences cellular growth of CRC cells and low expression of miR-96-5p seems to be associated with poor clinical outcome in CRC patients.