MiR-1254 Functions as a Tumor Suppressor in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma by Targeting CD36

Oral squamous cell carcinoma is one of the most common cancers around the world. The patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma are often diagnosed at late stages, leading to unfavorable prognosis. MicroRNAs might function as oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes in the tumorigenesis of cancer. This study aimed to explore the role of miR-1254 in oral squamous cell carcinoma. We examined the expression levels of miR-1254 in oral squamous cell carcinoma tissue samples and cell line.Proliferation and invasion assays were performed in oral squamous cell carcinoma cells with miR-1254 overexpression or underexpression. The potential regulatory mechanisms were also explored. We found that miR-1254 was significantly reduced in oral squamous cell carcinoma tissues and cell lines. In addition, downregulation of miR-1254 in oral squamous cell carcinoma tumor tissues was closely associated with cancer staging and lymph node metastasis. Enforced expression of miR-1254 significantly inhibited proliferation and invasion in oral cancer cells, and downregulation of miR-1254 promoted the oncogenic activities of oral cancer cells. CD36 was identified as a direct downstream target of miR-1254 by the luciferase reporter assay. Overexpression of CD36 partially restored the proliferation and invasion capacity inhibited by miR-1254. CD36 expression was inversely correlated with miR-1254 expression in the oral squamous cell carcinoma tissues. Taken together, our study provided the compelling evidence that miR-1254 might inhibit the progression of OSCC by partially downregulating CD36, and restoration of miR-1254 may represent an effective strategy for treating oral squamous cell carcinoma.