MicroRNA-205 suppresses proliferation and promotes apoptosis in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma

MicroRNAs were reported to be involved in the modulation of tumor development. The aim of our study was to investigate the effect of miR-205 on proliferation and apoptosis of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) and seek associations between miR-205 and Bcl-2 using in vitro and in vivo methods. Real-time qPCR was used to analyze the expression of miR-205 in LSCC samples and Hep-2 cell line. Apoptosis, cell cycle, and proliferation (MTT) assays were performed to test the apoptosis and proliferation of LSCC cells after miR-205 transfection. Bcl-2 expression in cells was assessed with Western blotting. The tumorigenicity of LSCC cells was evaluated in nude mice model. MiR-205 was significantly down-regulated in LSCC tissues compared to adjacent normal tissues. Lower expression of miR-205 was indicated to be statistically related with advanced clinical stage and T3–4 grades. We found that restoration of miR-205 down-regulated the proliferative markers of dihydrofolate reductase and proliferating cell nuclear antigen and apoptotic regulator of Bcl-2. The findings in vitro and in vivo showed miR-205 could suppress cell proliferation and induce cell apoptosis. In addition, Bcl-2 was identified as one of the direct targets of miR-205 in LSCC cells. These results suggest that miR-205 may play as a tumor suppressor in LSCC, probably by targeting Bcl-2 and serve as a potential target for therapeutic intervention.