Molecular mechanism of long-chain non-coding RNA FENDRR regulating proliferation, invasion and migration of oral squamous cell carcinoma cells by target gene miR-181b-5p

Objective To investigate the effect of long-chain non-coding RNA (lncRNA) FENDRR on the proliferation, invasion and migration of oral squamous cell carcinoma cells and its potential mechanism. Methods Human oral squamous cell carcinoma cell line SCC15 and human normal oral epithelial cell line HOEC were included as the subjects in the study. The expression of FENDRR and miR-181b-5p were determined by RT-qPCR. MTT assay and Transwell chamber assay were used to examine the overexpression of FENDRR and inhibition of miR-181b-5p, respectively. The effects of overexpression of FENDRR and inhibition of miR-181b-5p on the proliferation, migration and invasion of oral squamous cell carcinoma cells were determined. Dual luciferase reporter assay was used to determine whether FENDRR targeted miR-181b-5p. Results Compared with normal oral epithelial cells, the expression level of FENDRR was significantly down-regulated in oral squamous cell carcinoma cells (P<0.05) , whereas the expression level of miR-181b-5p was significantly up-regulated (P<0.05) . Overexpression of FENDRR significantly inhibited the expression level of miR-181b-5p in oral squamous cell carcinoma cells, whereas the expression level of miR-181b-5p significantly increased after FENDRR inhibition. The findings of dual luciferase reporter gene assay identified that FENDRR targeted miR-181b-5p. Overexpression of FENDRR and inhibition of miR-181b-5p significantly inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion of oral squamous cell carcinoma cells, whereas overexpression of miR-181b-5p reversed the inhibition of FENDRR overexpression on proliferation, migration and invasion of oral squamous cell carcinoma cells. Conclusion FENDRR inhibits the proliferation, invasion and migration of oral squamous cell carcinoma cells, and its mechanism may be related to the targeted inhibition of miR-181b-5p expression. Key words: Oral squamous cell carcinoma; Long-chain non-coding RNA FENDRR; miR-181b-5p; Proliferation; Migration and invasion