MiR-148a inhibits oral squamous cell carcinoma progression through ERK/MAPK pathway via targeting IGF-IR.

OBJECTIVE: The current study aimed to investigate the functional roles and clinical significance of miR-148a in the progression of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). METHODS: Relative expression of miR-148a in OSCC cells and tissues were detected using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Chi-square test was performed to estimate the relationship between miR-148a expression and clinical characteristics of OSCC patients. Cell transfection was carried out using Lipofectamine(R) 2000. Biological behaviors of tumor cells were detected using MTT and transwell assays. Bioinformatics analysis and luciferase reporter assay were used to identify the target genes of miR-148a. Protein expression was detected through western blot analysis. RESULTS: MiR-148a expression was obviously decreased in OSCC tissues and cells, and such down-regulation was closely correlated with lymph node metastasis (P=0.027) and TNM stage (P=0.001) of OSCC patients. miR-148a over-expression could significantly impair OSCC cell proliferation, migration and invasion in vitro (PmiR-148a. MiR-148a could inhibit ERK/MAPK signaling pathway through targeting IGF-IR. CONCLUSION: MiR-148a plays an anti-tumor role in OSCC and inhibits OSCC progression through suppressing ERK/MAPK pathway via targeting IGF-IR.