miR-7111-5p and miR6870-5p may be Potential Biomarkers for Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

OBJECTIVE MicroRNAs (miRs) are small, non-coding RNAs that are involved in tumor development and progression in multiple cancers with the action as oncomiRs or tumor suppressor miRs. Therefore, miRNAs have become potential biomarkers in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. The previous studies have revealed that miR7111-5p and miR6870-5p are abnormally expressed in various types of cancer but in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) has not been elucidated. The main objective of our study was to evaluate the expression alternations of miR7111-5p and miR6870-5p as well as serum response factor (SRF) in OSCC tissues compared with adjacent normal oral epithelial tissues. METHODS SRF was identified as a potential target gene of miR7111-5p and miR6870-5p using the TargetScan, Mir walk, and Mirdb miRNA-target prediction tools. SRF, miR7111-5p, and miR6870-5p expression levels were examined by RT-qPCR in OSCC compared with normal tissues. RESULTS Our results showed that miR7111-5p and miR6870-5p were significantly downregulated in 30 pairs of OSCC tissue samples (p<0.05) relative to adjacent normal oral tissues. In the present study, we found that the high expression level of SRF was negatively correlated with the down regulation of miR7111-5p and miR6870-5p and was statistically correlated with the tumor stage. CONCLUSION miR7111-5p, miR6870-5p, and SRF may be potential prognostic biomarkers for OSCC diagnosis and monitoring.

Automated summary

In this study, miR7111-5p and miR6870-5p were found to be significantly downregulated in OSCC tissues compared to normal tissues, while high expression of SRF was negatively correlated with the downregulation of miR7111-5p and miR6870-5p, and was associated with tumor stage. These results suggest that miR7111-5p, miR6870-5p, and SRF may serve as potential prognostic biomarkers for OSCC diagnosis and monitoring.