Long noncoding RNA UCID sponges miR‑152‑3p to promote colorectal cancer cell migration and invasion via the Wnt/β‑catenin signaling pathway.

Research has shown that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play significant roles in colorectal cancer (CRC). However, the role of lnc-UCID (lncRNA upregulating CDK6 by interacting with DHX9) in CRC remains largely unknown. In the present study, analyses revealed that lnc-UCID was markedly upregulated in CRC compared with that in normal specimens. Functional experiments showed that the depletion of lnc-UCID inhibited CRC cell invasion and migration significantly, while overexpression of lnc-UCID had the opposite effect. A candidate target of lnc-UCID, microRNA miR-152-3p, was identified using bioinformatic analysis. Moreover, in CRC tissue, we noted an inverse correlation between miR-152-3p and lnc-UCID expression levels. Overexpression and knockdown experiments revealed opposing roles for miR-152-3p and lnc-UCID, suggesting that lnc-UCID negatively regulates miR-152-3p. Luciferase reporter assays demonstrated that miR-152-3p directly targets lnc-UCID. The results suggest that lnc-UCID acts as an endogenous miRNA sponge, competing for miR-152-3p binding and thereby regulating the miRNA's targets. Overall, we propose that the lnc-UCID/miR-152-3p/Wnt/beta-catenin signaling axis represents a novel mechanism that explains the migration and invasion of CRC.