Purpose: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a severe health condition characterized by high mortalities. NudC domain containing 1 (NUDCD1) is abnormally upregulated in multiple tumors and is recognized as a cancer antigen. In CRC, NUDCD1 upregulation accelerates tumor progression by activating the IGF1R-ERK1/2 signaling pathway. Its specific regulatory mechanisms, however, remain unclear.

Methods: In the present study, we predicted the regulators of NUDCD1 and analyzed the expression profile of NUDCD1 in CRC tissues using the gene chip dataset. We also determined the regulation between miR-144, NUDCD1 and IGF1R-ERK1/2 signaling in vitro and in vivo. Then, the expression of miR-144 in CRC tissues was detected and its cell functions were verified in vitro.

Results: As predicted by bioinformatics, we found that NUDCD1 is a predicted target of miR-144 and confirmed that miR-144 directly binds to NUDCD1. In vitro and in vivo, miR-144 was determined to specifically regulate NUDCD1 expression and as such, can reduce the activity of the IGF1R-ERK1/2 signaling pathway. Moreover, miR-144 was significantly downregulated in CRC tissues; its levels were significantly negatively correlated with CRC primary range and lymph node metastasis. Cell function studies verified that miR-144 acts as a tumor suppressor, because it significantly inhibits the proliferation, metastasis, and invasion of CRC cells as well as inducing cell cycle arrest and apoptosis.

Conclusions: Our study demonstrates that miR-144 regulates IGF1R-ERK1/2 signaling via NUDCD1 to inhibit CRC cell proliferation and metastasis. The miR-144/NUDCD1/IGF1R-ERK1/2 signaling axis may be crucial in the progression of CRC.