Dysregulated miR-645 affects the proliferation and invasion of head and neck cancer cell

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Dysregulated miRNAs play an important role in many malignant tumors. However, elucidating the roles of miRNAs in cancer biology, especially in epithelial cancers, remains an ongoing process. In this study, we identified the differentially expressed miR-645 in the progressing of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and investigated its biological function. METHODS: The association between clinicopathological parameters and the expression levels of the candidated miRNAs were analyzed by using the Kaplan–Meier survival analysis. The cell growth, invasion and migration potential, and clone formation were observed to detect the functions of the miRNAs in HNSCC cells. RESULTS: In the 34 HNSCC tissues with lymph node metastasis, the expression level of miR-645 was 0.54 ± 0.12, and the expression level was 0.22 ± 0.05 in the 28 tissues with non lymph node metastasis (p = 0.017). In patients with HNSCC, higher level of miR-645 expression significantly correlates with worse overall survival (p = 0.04). Ectopic expression of miR-645 promoted cell invasion and migration. CONCLUSIONS: miR-645 play a key role in cell invasion and metastasis and their expression correlates with overall survival in the patients with HNSCC.