miR-552-5p targets and regulates FAM172A. (A) Bioinformatics analysis revealed that miR-552-5p directly targets the 3′-UTR of FAM172A. (B and C) Differential FAM172A expression in CRC and normal tissues. FAM172A expression in (D) several CRC cell lines was determined using RT-qPCR and (E) in CRC tissues by western blotting. (F) The luciferase activity of the reporter including miR-552-5p mimic and FAM172A WT or MUT was evaluated. (G) RIP assay analysis showed FAM172A or miR-552-5p expression pulled down from the lysates of SW620 and LoVo cells with the anti-Ago2 antibody. Data obtained from TCGA was utilized to investigate the association between FAM172A expression and the (H) PFS and (I) overall survival in CRC patients. Data are presented as the mean ± SD of three repeats. **P<0.01, ***P<0.001. miR, microRNA; UTR, untranslated region; CRC, colorectal cancer; RT-qPCR, reverse transcription quantitative PCR; WT, wild-type; MUT, mutant; RIP, RNA immunoprecipitation; TCGA, The Cancer Genome Atlas; PFS, progression free survival; NC, negative control.