This result was further validated by MTS assay in colorectal cancer cells, which showed that the growth rate of DARS-AS1-knockdown cells reduced to only half of the control cells (Fig. 1c), and is consistent with previous reports on several other cancer types: clear cell renal cancer, thyroid cancer and non-small cell lung cancer51–53,55. Here, DARS1-AS1 is linked to colorectal cancer.