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miRNAs regulate gene expression and are key mediators of tumourigenesis. miR-129 has diverse effects in tumours, but its role in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) remains unknown. This article focuses on the role of miR-129-5p in LSCC. We show miR-129-5p is upregulated in primary LSCC tumours and correlated with advanced disease. Down-regulating miR-129-5p suppressed cell proliferation and migration, and caused cell cycle arrest in Hep-2 cell lines. Downregulation of miR-129-5p alone is sufficient to induce apoptosis both in vivo and in vitro. Moreover, the growth of LSCC xenograft exposed to miR-129-5p antisense oligonucleotides (ASO) in BALB/c mice was markedly inhibited. In addition, we found that miR-129-5p targeted adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) to release inhibition of Wnt signalling causing cell growth and tumourigenesis. Our results suggest miR-129-5p functions as an oncogene in LSCC by repressing APC and is a potential therapeutic target for LSCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MiRNAs are small, noncoding RNA molecules that emerge as important regulators of cancer-related processes. The miR-21 microRNA is overexpressed in a wide variety of cancers and has been causally related to cellular proliferation and apoptosis. In this study, we found that miR-21 is overexpressed in Laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) and correlated with advanced stage. Inhibition of miR-21 by antisense oligonucleotides (ASO) led to decreased protein level of Ras and profound suppression of cell proliferation and invasion. Hep-2 cells exposed to miR-21 ASO exhibited cell cycle arrest at G1 phase and increased apoptosis. Furthermore, growth of LSCC xenograft tumours was significantly suppressed by repeated injection of ASO-miR-21 lentivirus and the Ras protein expression in LSCC xenograft tumours was also downregulate by ASO-miR-21. Taken together, our data suggest that miR-21 may play an oncogenic role in the cellular processes of LSCC and represent a novel target for effective therapies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]