MicroRNA-613 promotes colon cancer cell proliferation, invasion and migration by targeting ATOH1

Abstract The aim of the present study is to investigate the expression and function of miR-613 in colon cancer (CC) and illuminate the molecular mechanisms underlying miR-613-regulated CC progression. Our data demonstrated that miR-613 was upregulated in CC tissue samples ( P  = 0.009) and human CC cell lines (HCT-116 and Lovo; P  = 0.001 and P  = 0.003, respectively), which also promoted the proliferation, invasion and migration of CC cells ( P P 2  = 3.592, P  = 0.043), lower TNM stage (χ 2  = 3.537, P  = 0.048) and better overall survival ( P =0.041). Jun N-terminal kinase 1 (JNK1) pathway and Mucin 2 (MUC2) were the potential downstream proteins of miR-613/ATOH1. miR-613 is an oncogene in CC and promotes the proliferation, invasion and migration of CC cells by targeting ATOH1 likely via activating JNK1 pathway and upregulating MUC2.