OncoTargets and Therapy (Feb 2021)

LncRNA FER1L4 Promotes Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Progression via Targeting miR-133a-5p/Prx1 Axis

  • Zhang N,
  • Zeng L,
  • Wang S,
  • Wang R,
  • Yang R,
  • Jin Z,
  • Tao H

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 14
pp. 795 – 806

Abstract

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Nan Zhang,1,* Lingfang Zeng,2,* Shouyi Wang,3,* Ronghua Wang,4 Rui Yang,5 Zuolin Jin,6 Hong Tao1 1Department of Stomatology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xian, Shanxi, 710061, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Pediatric Stomatology, Jinan Stomatological Hospital, Jinan, Shandong, 250000, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Jinan Stomatological Hospital, Jinan, Shandong, 250000, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Pediatrics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xian, Shanxi, 710061, People’s Republic of China; 5Department of Dental, Xi ‘an Tianrui Institute of Stomatology, Xian, Shanxi, 710061, People’s Republic of China; 6Department of Orthodontics, Oral Hospital of the Fourth Military Medical University, Xian, Shanxi, 710032, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Zuolin JinDepartment of Orthodontics, Oral Hospital of the Fourth Military Medical University, No. 145, Changle Weste Road, Xian, Shanxi, 710032, People’s Republic of ChinaEmail [email protected] TaoDepartment of Stomatology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, No. 227, Yanta West Road, Xian, Shanxi, 710061, People’s Republic of ChinaEmail [email protected]: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a common cancer especially young people in the world. The long non-coding RNA Fer-1-like protein 4 (FER1L4) has been reported to be closely associated with the progression of various human cancers. However, the role of FER1L4 in OSCC remains unclear.Methods: The expression level of FER1L4 in OSCC tissues and cancer cell lines was detected by using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Cell proliferation was evaluated by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay and EdU staining assay. Cell invasion and migration were evaluated by Transwell assay. Cell apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry. Luciferase reporter assay was performed to determine the targeting relationship between FER1L4, miR-133a-5p and Prx1. The protein expression of Prx1 was detected by Western blot. In addition, a xenograft tumor model in vivo was constructed to confirm the function of FER1L4.Results: FERIL4 was significantly upregulated in OSCC tissues and cancer cell lines. Moreover, high level of FER1L4 predicted a poor prognosis of OSCC patients. Silencing of FER1L4 not only significantly inhibited cell growth, invasion, migration and induced apoptosis in SCC-9 and HN4 cells in vitro, but also effectively suppressed the tumorigenesis of OSCC cells in vivo. Knockdown of FER1L4 significantly enhanced the expression of miR-133a-5p by sponging it, and then downregulated Prx1 expression.Conclusion: Our study elucidated a new mechanism of lncRNA FER1L4 that promoting OSCC progression by directly targeting miR-133a-5p/Prx1 axis and provided novel therapeutic targets for OSCC.Keywords: OSCC, lncRNA FER1L4, miR-133a-5p, Prx1, tumorigenesis

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