MicroRNA‑592 promotes cell proliferation, migration and invasion in colorectal cancer by directly targeting SPARC.

Colorectal cancer (CRC), one of the most common cancer types, causes a large number of cancer‑related mortalities annually worldwide. Dysregulated microRNAs (miRNAs/miR) are closely associated with the malignant progression of CRC. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the expression and regulatory role of miR‑592 in CRC. It was found that miR‑592 expression was significantly elevated in CRC tissues and cell lines, and was associated with the prognosis of patients. Cellular phenotype assays demonstrated that miR‑592 could promote CRC cell proliferation, migration and invasion. Bioinformatics analysis demonstrated that miR‑592 mainly participated in the positive regulation of transcription, as well as the regulation of cell motility. Moreover, miR‑592 targets were enriched in several signaling pathways, such as the 'mTOR' and 'FoxO' signaling pathways. In addition, secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC) was identified as a target of miR‑592 in CRC. The present results suggested that miR‑592 acts as an oncogene in CRC, in part, by directly inhibiting SPARC expression. Collectively, the present study provides a novel potential therapeutic strategy for CRC.