Lu YC, Chang JT, Liao CT, Kang CJ, Huang SF, Chen IH, Huang CC, Huang YC, Chen WH, Tsai CY, Wang HM, Yen TC, You GR, Chiang CH, Cheng AJ. OncomiR-196 promotes an invasive phenotype in oral cancer through the NME4-JNK-TIMP1-MMP signaling pathway.
Mol Cancer 2014;
13:218. [PMID:
25233933 PMCID:
PMC4176851 DOI:
10.1186/1476-4598-13-218]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2014] [Accepted: 09/11/2014] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Background
MicroRNA-196 (miR-196), which is highly up-regulated in oral cancer cells, has been reported to be aberrantly expressed in several cancers; however, the significance of miR-196 in oral cancer has not yet been addressed.
Methods
Cellular functions in response to miR-196 modulation were examined, including cell growth, migration, invasion and radio/chemosensitivity. Algorithm-based studies were used to identify the regulatory target of miR-196. The miR-196 target gene and downstream molecular mechanisms were confirmed by RT-qPCR, western blot, luciferase reporter and confocal microscopy analyses. miR-196 expression was determined in paired cancer and adjacent normal tissues from oral cancer patients.
Results
Both miR-196a and miR-196b were highly over-expressed in the cancer tissue and correlated with lymph node metastasis (P = 0.001 and P = 0.006, respectively). Functionally, miR-196 actively promoted cell migration and invasion without affecting cell growth. Mechanistically, miR-196 performed it's their function by inhibiting NME4 expression and further activating p-JNK, suppressing TIMP1, and augmenting MMP1/9.
Conclusion
miR-196 contributes to oral cancer by promoting cell migration and invasion. Clinically, miR-196a/b was significantly over-expressed in the cancer tissues and correlated with lymph node metastasis. Thus, our findings provide new knowledge of the underlying mechanism of cancer metastasis. miR-196 may serve as a promising marker for better oral cancer management.
Electronic supplementary material
The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1476-4598-13-218) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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