Association between High miR-211 microRNA Expression and the Poor Prognosis of Oral Carcinoma

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are non-coding RNAs that play roles in gene silencing and may be involved in tumorigenesis. miR-211 was mapped to chromosome 15q13, a locus frequently altered in cancers. The role of miR-211in carcinogenesis has not been clearly defined, however. This study investigated the pathogenetic implications of miR-211 in oral carcinogenesis. An association was found between higher miR-211 expression and the most advanced nodal metastasis, vascular invasion, and poor prognosis of oral carcinoma. The function of enforced miR-211 expression in oral carcinoma cells was confirmed by the repression of LacZ in a reporter plasmid via miR-211 targeting. Enforced miR-211 expression significantly increased the proliferation, migration, and anchorage-independent colony formation of oral carcinoma cells, while it enhanced the tumorigenicity of only SAS high-grade oral carcinoma cells, but not OECM-1 non-tumorigenic cells. The findings suggest that high miR-211 expression may be associated with the progression of oral carcinoma and poor patient outcomes. Abbreviations: Ct, threshold cycle; EF1 alpha, elongation factor 1 alpha HNSCC, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma; NHOK, normal human oral keratinocyte; OPL, oral precancerous lesion; OSCC, oral squamous cell carcinoma; Q-RT-PCR, quantitative reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain-reaction.