Over-expression of miR-193a-3p regulates the apoptosis of colorectal cancer cells by targeting PAK3

Although dysregulated expression of microRNAs (miRNA) has been investigated in colorectal cancer (CRC), MiR-193a-3p, as a tumor inhibitor, is less studied. To investigate the function and mechanism of miR-193a-3p in CRC, the potential function of miR-193a-3p in regulating PAK3 in CRC with a series of experimental assays including western blotting, qRT-PCR, bioinformatics analysis, a luciferase reporter assay, flow cytometry, Transwell assay, CCK8 assay and immunofluorescence were performed in this study. The results showed that miR-193a-3p was down-regulated in CRC tissues and cell lines, which was also correlated with tumor progression. PAK3 was predicted as a target gene of miR-193a-3p in CRC cells by TargetScan database, which was confirmed by luciferase assays. Moreover, overexpression of miR-193a-3p suppressed the viability, cell cycle progression, migration, and invasion, and induced apoptosis of CRC cells in vitro by regulating the PAK3 signaling pathway. Therefore, miR-193a-3p may serve as a tumor suppressor and potential target for CRC treatment.