微小RNA miR-452-5p 在多种肿瘤形成的进展中起着关键作用，但对早期结直肠癌（CRC）中上皮-间质转化（EMT）进展及其潜在机制的理解有限。我们旨在探索早期CRC中miRNA表达的变化，并研究这些miRNA在CRC中的作用。通过实时定量聚合酶链反应确定早期CRC组织和细胞中miR-452-5p的表达水平。此外，通过体外功能实验研究了miR-452-5p对CRC的生物学效应。miR-452-5p的表达水平在早期CRC组织中增加。我们发现miR-452-5p促进了CRC细胞的增殖，但抑制了上皮-间质转化。此外，miR-452-5p通过激活胞外信号调节激酶途径促进细胞增殖，并通过抑制Slug（Snail2）表达和上调E-cadherin表达来抑制细胞侵袭。miR-452-5p的表达在早期CRC中上调，抑制了CRC中的上皮-间质转化。这些发现表明miR-452-5p有潜力成为CRC的可行治疗靶点。 Copyright © 2023，International Institute of Anticancer Research（Dr. George J. Delinasios），保留所有权利。

The microRNA miR-452-5p holds a critical role in the progression of multiple tumor formations, but there is limited understanding regarding the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) progression and its underlying mechanisms in the early-stage colorectal cancer (CRC). We aimed to explore the change in miRNA expression in early-stage CRC and examine the role of these miRNAs in CRC.The expression levels of miR-452-5p in tissues and cells of early-stage CRC were determined by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Additionally, the biological effects of miR-452-5p on CRC were investigated by in vitro functional experiments.The expression levels of miR-452-5p were found increased in early-stage CRC tissue. We found that miR-452-5p promoted CRC cell proliferation but inhibited epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Furthermore, miR-452-5p promoted cell proliferation through activation of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase pathway, and inhibited cell invasion through suppression of Slug (Snail2) expression and up-regulation of E-cadherin expression.The expression of miR-452-5p is up-regulated in early CRC and suppresses epithelial-mesenchymal transition in CRC. These discoveries suggest that miR-452-5p has the potential to serve as a viable therapeutic target for CRC.Copyright © 2023, International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. George J. Delinasios), All rights reserved.