LncRNA HOXA11-AS Promotes Proliferation and Cisplatin Resistance of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma by Suppression of miR-214-3p Expression

Drug resistance to platinum limited therapeutic options for oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). In the current study, we investigated the role of lncRNA HOMEOBOX A11 (HOXA11) antisense RNA (HOXA11-AS) in OSCC resistance to cisplatin (CDDP). We used clinical tissues and OSCC cell lines and induced CDDP resistance in OSCC cells. Gain and loss of function were performed in OSCC-resistant cells. Xenograft mice were also established. HOXA11-AS expression was increased in OSCC clinical tissues and cell lines and upregulated in CDDP-resistant cells. Upregulation of HOXA11-AS promoted proliferation in CDDP-sensitive cells and inhibited CDDP-induced cytotoxicity. In contrast, downregulation of HOXA11-AS decreased proliferation in CDDP-resistant cells and increased CDDP-induced cytotoxicity. Knockdown of HOXA11-AS inhibited the tumor growth in xenograft mice injected by CDDP. Downregulation of HOXA11-AS increased apoptosis and caspase 3 activities in CDDP-resistant OSCC cells. Bioinformatics, reporter assay, and loss and gain of function assay indicated that HOXA11-AS and miR-214-3p could negatively regulate each other. miR-214-3p was decreased in OSCC clinical tissues and cell lines. We further revealed that proto-oncogene serine/threonine-protein kinase (PIM1) was the target of miR-214-3p. PIM1 expression could be negatively regulated by miR-214-3p and positively regulated by HOXA11-AS. Inhibition of PIM1 suppressed anti-miR-214-3p-induced increase of cell proliferation and decrease of apoptosis. In summary, HOXA11-AS was identified to facilitate CDDP-resistance in OSCC and miR-214-3p/PIM1 was found to be the downstream target of HOXA11-AS. The findings highlight the importance of HOXA11-AS/miR-214-3p/PIM1 axis in the drug resistance of OSCC and provide potential targets for improving chemotherapy of OSCC.