Give the aforementioned evidence, the gain- and loss-of-function assays in our study were supported that silencing lncRNA MAFG-AS1 or HOXB8 harbored the potential to inhibit the proliferation, invasion, migration and tumorigenicity but promote the apoptosis of CRC cells, all of which were also observed in response to upregulation of miR-149-3p. The gene discussed is HOXB8; the disease is colorectal carcinoma.