Review Article

MicroRNA as a Novel Modulator in Head and Neck Squamous Carcinoma

Table 3

miRNAs involved in tumorigenesis of HNSCC.

microRNATumor sites or cell linesPhysiological effectsPotential target(s)Reference(s)

let-7aLaryngeal squamous cancer tissues; Hep-2 cellsLet-7a mimic transfection suppressed proliferation and induced apoptosis in Hep-2 cellsRAS and c-MYC [42]
miR-10bHuman esophageal cancer cell lines (KYSE30, KYSE70, KYSE140, KYSE150, KYSE410, KYSE450, KYSE510, and EC9706)Ectopic expression of miR-10b promoted migration and invasionKLF4 [169]
miR-15aHNSCC SQ20B cell linemiR-15a inhibition promoted DNA synthesisCyclin E [60]
miR-21Primary tongue carcinoma and primary esophageal squamous cell carcinomas; human tongue cancer cell lines (SCC-15 and CAL27) and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cell lines (TE6, TE8, TE10, TE11, TE12, and TE14)miR-21 inhibition inhibited cell growth and promoted apoptosisTPM1, PTEN, and PDCD4 [51ā€“53]
miR-31OSCC SAS cell lineEctopic expression increased the oncogenic potential of HNSCC cells under normoxia conditionsFIH [73]
miR-100UPCI:SCC029 cellsTransfection of miR-100 mimics inhibited proliferationD1, EGR2, MMP13, and FGFR3 [62]
miR-125bUPCI:SCC029 cellsTransfection of miR-125b mimics inhibited proliferationKLF13, CXCL11, and FOXA1 [62]
miR-138Six paired HNSCC cell lines (UM1/UM2, 1386Tu/1386Ln and 686Tu/686Ln with different migration or invasion abilityEctopic expression caused cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, and suppressed invasionRhoC and ROCK2 [43, 44]
miR-1415ā€“8F cell line (an NPC cell line) knockdowned c-MYC or re-expressed SPLUNC1miR-141 inhibition decreased migration, inhibited invasion, and slightly enhanced apoptosisBRD3, UBAP1, and PTEN [47]
miR-184TSCC Cal27, HN21B, and HN96 cell linesmiR-184 inhibition resulted in proliferation inhibition and apoptosisc-Myc[61]
miR-196Esophageal cancer tissuesDownregulation of miR-196 inhibited growth and conferred drug-sensitivity of esophageal cancer cellsN.D. [41]
miR-200c5 primary HNSCC CSCUpregulation of miR-200c inhibited the cancer stem cell-like properties of ALDH1+CD44+ HNSCCBmi-1To be published
miR-203HNSCC JHU-012 cellsmiR-203 induced cell cycle arrest and apoptosis upon UVC irradiationDeltaNp63 [64]
miR-204HNSCC cell lines (SCC25, SCC35, SCC58, SCC61, SCC135, SCC151, SQ20B, SQ38, and JSQ3)miR-204 mimics repressed proliferation, invasion, and migrationN.D. [45]
miR-210Pancreatic cancer cell line SU86.86 and Fadu cellsEctopic expression repressed xenograft tumor growthHOXA1, HOXA9, and FGFRL1 [70]
miR-211OSCC SAS cell lineEnforced expression of miR-211 enhanced migration, invasion, and colony formationN.D.[57]
miR-222HNSCC UM1/UM2 cell linesTransfection of miR-222 mimics inhibited invasionMMP1 and SOD2[58]
miR-373The esophageal cancer cell lines (CE48T, CE146T, KYSE70, KYSE150, KYSE170, KYSE5, 10KYSE50, and CE81T)miR-373 enhances cell proliferation in esophageal cancer cell linesLATS2[50]
miR-503UMSCC10B cell lineTransfection of miR-503 decreased S phase and cell growthCyclin D1[59]

N.D: not determined.
Abbreviations: HNSCC: head and neck squamous cell carcinoma; OSCC: oral squamous cell carcinoma. NPC: nasopharyngeal carcinoma; TSCC: tongue squamous cell carcinoma; CSC: cancer stem cell.