Abstract
RNA dysregulation mediated by aberrant RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) is closely associated with tumorigenesis. However, the tumorigenic mechanisms of each RBP remained unclear. In this study, we demonstrate that downregulation of Splicing factor 3A1 (SF3A1) markedly suppressed the proliferation of colorectal cancer (CRC) cells, with minimal cytotoxicity observed in non-cancerous epithelial cells. The tumor-promoting function of SF3A1 was further validated in an HCT116 xenograft mouse model. Multiple apoptosis assays—including TdT-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) staining, poly-ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) immunoblotting, and caspase-3/7 activity measurements—showed that SF3A1 inhibited apoptotic signaling in CRC cells. Transcriptome analysis, combined with RNA-immunoprecipitation (RIP), identified Syntaxin 12 (STX12) as a downstream effector of SF3A1. Knockdown of STX12 induced apoptosis in CRC cells but had no effect on the viability of non-cancerous HCEC-1CT epithelial cells. Furthermore, STX12 mRNA levels were significantly reduced following SF3A1 knockdown, indicating that SF3A1-mediated stabilization of STX12 contributes to apoptosis resistance in CRC cells. Collectively, our findings establish that SF3A1 promotes CRC progression by stabilizing STX12 mRNA and selectively inhibiting apoptosis in malignant cells, thereby identifying the SF3A1–STX12 regulatory axis as a novel and selective therapeutic target for CRC.