MicroRNA-338 inhibits migration and proliferation by targeting hypoxia-induced factor 1α in nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Abstract

Nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) is an endemic type of head and neck cancer with a high rate of cervical lymph node metastasis. An increasing number of studies have shown that microRNAs (miRNAs) play a key role in the development and progression of NPC. MIR-338-3p has been demonstrated as an anti-oncogene in different solid tumors. The aim of the present study was to investigate the potential role of MIR-338-3p in the development and progression of NPC. Compared with normal samples, our data showed that MIR-338-3p were downregulated in NPC tissues and cells. The luciferase assay demonstrated that HIF-1α was a direct target of MIR-338-3p. We also found that MIR-338-3p regulated the expression levels of HIF-1α, respectively. Overexpression of MIR-338-3p in NPC cells significantly inhibited cell proliferation, and migration. Conversely, MIR-338-3p knockdown in cells with lower endogenous expression levels significantly reduced antitumor behavior. Furthermore, enforced expression of MIR-338-3p led to a decline in ERK phosphorylation as well as inhibited the hypoxia induced epithelial to mesenchymal transition. Cells pre-transfected with MIR-338-3p can overcome hypoxiamediated cisplatin resistance. Taken together, we found that MIR-338-3p directly targeted HIF-1α, and we provide insight into NPC initiation and progression, possibly representing a novel therapeutic target.