MiR-126 inhibits cell migration and invasion by targeting ADAM9 in oral squamous cell carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), the most frequent head and neck cancer, has a high potential for metastasis. MiR-126 plays an important role in the tumorigenesis of many tumors; however, there were little studies in OSCC. The purpose of our study was to explore how miR-126 and ADAM9 worked on migration and invasion in OSCC. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The quantitative Real Time-Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR) was applied to detect the mRNA level of miR-126 and ADAM9. The transwell assay was utilized to calculate the migratory and invasive capacities in the OSCC cells. The luciferase report assay was utilized to verify that ADAM9 was a direct target of miR-126. RESULTS: MicroR-126 was downregulated in OSCC tissues and cell lines SCC25 and HSC3. ADAM9 was predicted to be a direct target of miR-126 and was upregulated in the OSCC cells. In addition, miR-126 suppressed the migratory and invasive ability via mediating the expression of ADAM9 by directly targeting its mRNA 3'-noncoding region (UTR), whose partial functions was reversed by ADAM9. CONCLUSIONS: MiR-126 inhibited the migratory and invasive capacities of OSCC by directly targeting the 3'-UTR of ADAM9 mRNA. It is suggested that miR-126/ADAM9 axis may play an essential role in inhibiting the abilities of migration and invasion in oral squamous cell carcinoma cells.