MicroRNA­375 inhibits oral squamous cell carcinoma cell migration and invasion by targeting platelet­derived growth factor­A.

ABSTRACT

MicroRNA­375 (miR­375) serves an important role in cancer development and growth. However, little is known about the role of miR­375 in the regulation of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) metastasis and invasion. The present study measured the expression levels of miR­375 in Tca8113, UM2, UM1 and CAL­27 cell lines, using reverse transcription­quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The results demonstrated that miR­375 expression levels were significantly reduced in UM1 and CAL­27 (highly metastatic) compared with Tca8113 and UM2 (less aggressive) OSCC cell lines. Furthermore, it was revealed that overexpression of miR­375 suppressed the migration and invasion of UM1 cells. Based on a luciferase reporter assay, platelet­derived growth factor­A (PDGF­A) was identified as a direct target gene of miR­375. Additionally, overexpression of PDGF­A significantly reversed the effect of miR­375 on cell migration and invasion in UM1 cells. These data demonstrated that miR­375 suppressed OSCC cell migration and invasion by targeting PDGF­A, which may be a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of OSCC.