MiR-429 Inhibits Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Growth by Targeting ZEB1

BACKGROUND Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the sixth most common human malignancy worldwide. To develop new therapeutics requires elucidation of the underlying mechanism of OSCC pathogenesis. The role of miR-429 in OSCC remains unknown. MATERIAL/METHODS The level of miR-429 and ZEB1 in OSCC tissues and cell lines was measured by qRT-PCR. MiR-429 was down-regulated by miRNAs antisense oligonucleotides (ASO) transfection and up-regulated by miRNAs mimics. Cell proliferation was analyzed by MTT assay. Cell apoptosis was revealed by FACS analysis. Targeted genes were predicted by a bioinformatics algorithm and confirmed by a dual luciferase reporter assay. RESULTS MiR-429 was down-regulated in OSCC tissues, and miR-429 overexpression inhibited OSCC cell lines growth and vice versa. Further, we found that miR-429 could inhibit zinc finger E-boxbinding homeobox 1 (ZEB1) expression, and that miR-429 and ZEB1 expression in OSCC tissues were negatively correlated. CONCLUSIONS Our data demonstrate the tumor suppressor role of miR-429 in OSCC, and may provide a potential therapeutic target that warrants further investigation.