title: MicroRNA-372 is associated with poor prognosis in colorectal cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  MicroRNA-372 (miR-372) is reportedly shown to be an oncogene in human testicular germ cell tumors and gastric cancers, but its expression in colorectal cancer (CRC) is not yet determined. This study investigated the clinical significance of miR-372 expression in CRC.
  
  
  METHODS
  qRT-PCR was used to evaluate miR-372 in 144 CRC patients, and large tumor suppressor 2 (LATS2) expression was also examined as the likely target gene of miR-372. In vitroassays were performed to evaluate the biological function of miR-372.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Multivariate analysis indicated that high miR-372 expression was an independent prognostic factor (p = 0.006). High miR-372 expression was associated with synchronous liver metastasis (p = 0.035). We found an inverse relationship between miR-372 and LATS2 by qRT-PCR (p = 0.007) and immunohistochemistry (p = 0.042) using CRC tissue samples. Furthermore, pre-miR-372 led to a decrease in the LATS2 protein and an increase in proliferative activity of LoVo cells. We also found a significant association between low LATS2 expression and liver metastasis (p = 0.042).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study suggested that miR-372 was a novel independent prognostic factor in CRC. Our data suggest that LATS2 may serve as one of the target genes of miR-372 in clinical CRC tissues.
authors.affiliation: Gastroenterological Surgery, Department of Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Suita, Japan.
authors.forename: Shinya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yamashita
authors.forename: Hirofumi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: Koshi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mimori
authors.forename: Naohiro
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nishida
authors.forename: Hidekazu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: Naotsugu
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Haraguchi
authors.forename: Fumiaki
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Kohei
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shibata
authors.forename: Mitsugu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sekimoto
authors.forename: Hideshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ishii
authors.forename: Yuichiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Doki
authors.forename: Masaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mori
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D011379:Prognosis; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000096:biosynthesis; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis
chemical_list: C561021:MIRN372 microRNA, human; D035683:MicroRNAs; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins; C406449:LATS2 protein, human; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases