MicroRNA-1294 inhibited oral squamous cell carcinoma growth by targeting c-Myc.

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the predominant histological type of oral cancer. The 5-year survival rate of OSCC is only ~50%. c-Myc is a known oncogene and target gene in various cancer types, including OSCC. The presnet study revealed that c-Myc is one of the target genes of miR-1294. Results indicated lower levels of miR-1294 in OSCC tissues samples collected from 24 patients with OSCC. Notably, overexpression of miR-1294 inhibited proliferation and migration in OSCC cell lines and inhibition of miR-1294 promoted cell growth and migration in OSCC cell lines. Moreover, miR-1294 can target the 3'UTR of c-Myc, as we identified a negative correlation between c-Myc mRNA expression and miR-1294 expression in 24 OSCC tissues. In conclusion, the data demonstrate the tumor suppressive role of miR-1294 in OSCC.