LncRNA SLCO4A1-AS1 predicts poor prognosis and promotes proliferation and metastasis via the EGFR/MAPK pathway in colorectal cancer

It is universally acknowledged that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) involved in tumorigenesis in human cancers. However, the function and mechanism of many lncRNAs in colorectal cancer (CRC) remain unclear. By analyzing the two sets of CRC-related gene microarrays data, downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database and the lncRNA expression in a set of RNA sequencing data, we found that lncRNA SLCO4A1-AS1 was significantly upregulated in CRC tissues. We then collected CRC tissue samples and verified that SLCO4A1-AS1 is highly expressed in CRC tissues. Furthermore, SLCO4A1-AS1 was also upregulated in the CRC cell line. In situ hybridization results showed that high expression of SLCO4A1-AS1 was associated with poor prognosis in patients with CRC. Next, we found that SLCO4A1-AS1 promoted CRC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. Results of western blotting assays show that its mechanism may relate to the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)/mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway. Therefore, SLCO4A1-AS1 may be a potential biomarker for CRC prognosis and a new target for colorectal cancer therapy.