MicroRNA-103a-3p promotes metastasis by targeting TPD52 in salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma

Salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma (SACC) exhibits slow continuous growth, frequent local recurrences and a high incidence of blood metastasis, with advanced lung metastasis frequently occurring and being among the primary causes of mortality. MicroRNAs (miR) serve a significant role in the initiation and development of cancer and may be tumour-specific molecular targets. However, the role of miR-103a-3p in SACC remains largely unknown. In the present study, the expression levels of miR-103a-3p and tumour protein D52 (TPD52) were detected by reverse transcription-quantitative PCR. In addition, wound-healing assays, Transwell assays and mouse models of lung metastasis were used to investigate the biological functions exerted by miR-103a-3p. The present results suggested that miR-103a-3p expression was significantly upregulated in SACC samples. Gain-of-function and loss-of-function studies in SACC cells demonstrated that miR-103a-3p acted as an oncogene by promoting tumour cell migrationin vitroand lung metastasisin vivo. Dual-luciferase reporter gene assays indicated that miR-103a-3p exerted its regulatory functions by binding to the 3' untranslated region of TPD52 mRNA. TPD52 overexpression rescued the effect of miR-103a-3p on promoting SACC cell migration, suggesting that miR-103a-3p acted as an oncogene to promote cancer metastasis by directly targeting TPD52. Thus, the newly identified miR-103a-3p/TPD52 axis contributes to the understanding of SACC pathogenesis, providing insights into the identification of novel biomarkers or potential therapeutic targets in SACC.