miR-611 promotes the proliferation, migration and invasion of tongue squamous cell carcinoma cells by targeting FOXN3.

Objectives: The function of miR-611 has not yet been reported. We aimed to investigate the effects of miR-611 on tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC) and the underlying mechanism.

Materials And Methods: The expression level of miR-611 in TSCC tissues was measured using quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Cell proliferation, migration and invasion were examined by performing CCK-8, IncuCyte and Transwell assays. Bioinformatics analyses and microarrays were used to screen for target genes, which were verified using a luciferase reporter assay, RT-qPCR and Western blotting. The xenograft model was used to assess the effects of miR-611 in vivo.

Results: miR-611 was upregulated in TSCC tissues, which was significantly correlated with TNM stage and negatively associated with the overall survival of patients. In addition, upregulation of miR-611 not only potentiated the proliferation, migration, invasion and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of TSCC cells in vitro, but also promoted tumour growth in vivo. FOXN3 was identified as a candidate target gene of miR-611 and subsequently verified. Finally, miR-611 induced a malignant phenotype of TSCC, which was rescued by overexpression of FOXN3.

Conclusions: Our findings suggest that miR-611 is a novel therapeutic target for TSCC.