Long non-coding RNA inhibits the stemenss of colorectal cancer cells through directly binding to RNA.

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) contribute to malignant features. Long non-coding RNA (LncRNA) has been shown to regulate tumor proliferation, migration, and invasion. However, the effects of on the CSC-like traits of colorectal cancer cells remain to be elucidated. Here, we identified that lncRNA level was remarkably lower in spheres formed by colorectal cancer cells compared to that in parental cancer cells. Further functional experiments showed that overexpression attenuated the CSC-like traits of colorectal cancer spheres, while knockdown conferred the CSC-like traits for colorectal cancer cells, as characterized by the alteration of ALDH activity, sphere-formation ability, and expression of stemness markers (). RNA-RNA interaction analysis combined with mRNA stability assay revealed that lncRNA directly interacted with mRNA 3'UTR, reduced its mRNA stability and thus inhibited expression. In addition, lncRNA -mediated effects on the CSC-like traits of colorectal cancer cells depended on expression. This work suggests that lncRNA can block the CSC-like traits in colorectal cancer cells through directly interacting with mRNA 3'UTR.