Purpose: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that regulate the basic cellular processes such as cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis at the post-transcriptional level by degrading or repressing target messenger RNAs (mRNA). Although miRNAs have been shown to be abnormally expressed in different tumors, their importance as potential cancer prognostic indicators on oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is still not fully understood. To define the role of miRNA in OSCC, we investigated the expression profile of 3 OSCC cell lines and 20 OSCC tumors using microarray analysis.

Method: The expression pattern of miRNAs in OSCC was examined by TaqMan-based microRNA assays.

Result: Of these 103 miRNAs, 72 miRNAs were significantly overexpressed (ex: miR-200c, miR-223, miR-203, miR-31, miR-24) and 31 miRNAs were underexpressed (ex: miR-204, miR-1, miR-410, miR-487b, miR-370) in OSCC cells. miR-200c and miR-21 that was previously reported to characterize progression to metastatistic OSCC, also included our anlaysis.

Conclusion: Identifying the differentially expressed miRNAs on OSCC will help to better classify OSCC, leading to improve diagnoses and patient care.

Conflict of interest: None declared.