Bioinformatics analyses combined microarray identify the deregulated microRNAs in oral cancer.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are important in the regulation of cell growth, differentiation, apoptosis and carcinogenesis. The overexpression of oncogenic miRNAs or the underexpression of tumor suppressor miRNAs exhibits a critical function in the tumorigenesis of oral cancer. The aim of the present study was to identify differentially expressed miRNAs (DE-miRNAs), which may differentiate oral cancer from normal tissues, as well as the molecular signatures that differ in tumor histology. The miRNA expression profiles of GSE28100 [the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) accession number] were downloaded from the GEO database and an independent sample t-test was used to identify statistical differences between the DE-miRNAs of the oral cancer patients and the healthy control subjects. The target genes of DE-miRNA were retrieved from the miRecords database. Furthermore, a protein-protein interaction network was constructed using the Search Tools for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes database and Cytoscape software. A total of 15 DE-miRNAs were identified and among them, hsa-miR-15a drew specific attention. Gene Ontology analysis revealed that the target genes of fibroblast growth factor (FGF)2 are involved in the progression of oral cancer. Furthermore, functional analysis indicated that the FGF-receptor signaling pathway was significantly upregulated in oral cancer. hsa-miR-15a is important in the regulation of oral cancer and thus, may present a potential biomarker for the prediction of oral cancer progression.