miR‑144‑3p inhibits tumor cell growth and invasion in oral squamous cell carcinoma through the downregulation of the oncogenic gene, EZH2

Accumulating evidence demonstrates that microRNAs (miRNAs or miRs) play important roles in the development and progression of human malignancies, including oral squamous cell carcinoma (OScc); however, the unique roles of miRNAs are not yet fully understood in OScc. The present study aimed to identi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of molecular medicine 2020-08, Vol.46 (2), p.828-838
Main Authors: He, Longlong, Liao, Lifan, Du, Liangzhi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Apoptosis
Cancer
Cancer genetics
Cancer metastasis
Cancer treatment
Cell growth
DNA microarrays
Experiments
Gene expression
Genetic aspects
Kinases
Laboratories
Metastasis
MicroRNA
MicroRNAs
Oral cancer
Patients
Proteins
Squamous cell carcinoma
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Summary:Accumulating evidence demonstrates that microRNAs (miRNAs or miRs) play important roles in the development and progression of human malignancies, including oral squamous cell carcinoma (OScc); however, the unique roles of miRNAs are not yet fully understood in OScc. The present study aimed to identify novel miRNAs associated with OScc and to elucidate their functions. Based on a microarray analysis, miR-144-3p was found to be one of the most significantly downregulated miRNAs in OSCC tissues. Its low expression was closely associated with tumor size, differentiation and lymph node metastasis. Functionally, miR-144-3p overexpression suppressed proliferation, promoted apoptosis, and suppressed the invasion and migration of OScc cells. In addition, enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2), a well-known oncogene, was proven to be a direct target of miR-144-3p, and its protein expression was negatively regulated by miR-144-3p. Moreover, EZH2 expression was increased, and inversely correlated with the miR-144-3p level in OScc tissues. Notably, EZH2 knockdown inhibited cell proliferation, promoted cell apoptosis, and suppressed the invasion and migration of OScc cells, whereas EZH2 overexpression partially reversed the anticancer effects mediated by miR-144-3p overexpression. On the whole, the findings of the present study suggest that miR-144-3p functions as a tumor suppressor by targeting the EZH2 oncogene, and may thus be considered as a potential diagnostic and therapeutic target for OScc.
ISSN:1107-3756
1791-244X
DOI:10.3892/ijmm.2020.4638