miRNA-10a promotes cancer cell proliferation in oral squamous cell carcinoma by upregulating GLUT1 and promoting glucose metabolism

MicroRNA-10a (miRNA-10a) promotes lung cancer; however, to the best of our knowledge, its involvement in other cancer types is unknown. The present study aimed to investigate the role of miRNA-10a in oral cancer. Expression levels of miRNA-10a and glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1) in tumor tissues and adjacent healthy tissues obtained from patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) were detected by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Correlation analysis between the expression levels of miRNA-10a and GLUT1 was performed using Pearson's correlation coefficient. It was identified that miRNA-10a and GLUT1 were upregulated in tumor tissues compared with adjacent healthy tissues of patients with OSCC. Expression levels of miRNA-10a and GLUT1 were positively correlated in tumor tissues but not in adjacent healthy tissues. In addition, miRNA-10a overexpression promoted glucose uptake and upregulated GLUT1 in OSCC cells. Furthermore, GLUT1 overexpression promoted glucose uptake; however, no significant increase in the expression level of miRNA-10a in OSCC cells was detected. Overexpression of miRNA-10a and GLUT1 promoted OSCC cell proliferation, while GLUT1-knockdown inhibited OSCC cell proliferation. GLUT1-knockdown also attenuated the enhancing effect of miRNA-10a overexpression on cancer cell proliferation. Therefore, miRNA-10a may promote cancer cell proliferation in OSCC by upregulating GLUT1 and promoting glucose metabolism.