ALKBH5 Promotes Colon Cancer Progression by Decreasing Methylation of the Lncrna NEAT1.

Colon cancer is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths all around the world. LncRNA methylation has been verified to participate in some kinds of malignancies. The aim of this study was to investigate the function of NEAT1 in colon cancer and further explore the potential mechanism between NEAT1 and ALKBH5. Differential expression of lncRNAs between colon cancer tissues and normal tissues was identified using ArrayStar lncRNA microarrays. The levels of NEAT1 and ALKBH5 expression in colon cancer tissues and cells were measured using qRT-PCR. MTT, transwell migration assays and qRT-PCR were performed to detect cell proliferation and migration. Flow cytometry and qRT-PCR was used for apoptosis analysis. Then, m6A RNA immunoprecipitation was performed to detect methylated NEAT1 in colon cancer cells. The results showed NEAT1 was remarkably enhanced in colon cancer tissues and correlated with poor prognosis. Knockdown of NEAT1 inhibited cell proliferation and migration, induced cell apoptosis in colon cancer cell lines. Besides, ALKBH5 could upregulate NEAT1 expression by demethylation. In addition, ALKBH5 knockdown suppressed malignant behavior of colon cancer partially through NEAT1 in vitro and vivo. In a word, we observed NEAT1 expression level was up-regulated in colon cancer tissues and cells. ALKBH5 knockdown suppressed malignant behavior of colon cancer partially through NEAT1 by demethylation in vitro and vivo, suggesting that ALKBH5-NEAT1 axis maybe potential therapeutic target for colon cancer treatment.