The long non-coding RNA TSLC8 inhibits colorectal cancer by stabilizing puma

The colorectal cancer (CRC) dictates a common malignancy with high recurrence rate. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) belong to a class of regulatory factors involved in multiple cancers. In current work, we have uncovered a novel lncRNA named TSLC8. TSLC8 was dramatically downregulated in CRC samples and cell lines. Reintroduction of TSLC8 inhibited tumor sphere formation and viability in CRC cells. In vivo experiments further confirmed the tumor suppressive function of TSLC8. Ectopic TSLC8 expression elevates puma abundance whereas this effect is mediated by TSLC8-puma binding and stabilization. FOXO1 can transcriptionally induce TSLC8 expression. Epigenetic investigation suggested that TSLC8 locus was hypermethylated in CRC leading to diminished TSLC8 expression. Our current work has identified a novel tumor suppressive function of TSLC8, whose reduced expression may facilitate malignant phenotypes during CRC progression.