Results Our data revealed that the expression levels of lncRNAs 91H, PVT-1 and MEG3 were significantly higher in plasma samples from CRC patients than in those from non-cancerous controls.
We observed that MEG3 was significantly down-regulated in both CRC tumor tissue and cell lines; also, the transient over-expression of MEG3 in CRC cell line SW480 and LoVo inhibited the proliferation and the migration and clone formation capability of cells; on the other hand, the knockdown of MEG3 has revealed opposite effects.
These results suggested that MEG3 functions as a tumor suppressor in CRC via regulating the Clusterin activities and may underlie the anticancer activities of vitamin D on CRC cells.
Collectively, MEG3 facilitated the sensitivity of CRC cells to oxaliplatin by regulating miR-141/PDCD4 axis, providing a novel therapeutic strategy for CRC.
In conclusion, our study demonstrated that MEG3 is involved in the development and progression of colorectal cancer by regulating cell proliferation and shows that MEG3 may be a potential diagnostic and prognostic target in patients with colorectal cancer.