miR-1246 Promotes Laryngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Progression by Interacting with THBS1

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been confirmed to be related to the occurrence and progress of multiple can-cers, including laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC). The present work focused on exploring the role of miR-1246 in LSCC and investigating the possible mechanisms. miR-1246 expression levels within clinical LSCC tissues and cell lines (TU212 and AMC-HN-8) were detected through quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) assay. Then the overall survival (OS) rates of LSCC patients with different miR-1246 expressions were assessed by the Kaplan-Meier method. In addition, the roles of miR-1246 in the proliferation, apoptosis and migration of TU212 and AMC-HN-8 cells were measured by colony formation, flow cytometry, wound-healing, and Western blot (WB) assays, respectively. Moreover, TargetScan was carried out to predict the miR-1246 targets (thrombospondin-1, THBS1), further confirmed by a dual-luciferase reporter assay. Afterward, the negative relationship between miR-1246 and THBS1 was assessed by qRT-PCR and WB. Furthermore, the restoring effects of THBS1 on TU212 and AMC-HN-8 functional roles transfected with miR-1246 inhibitor were further investigated. miR-1246 expression levels were increased in clinical LSCC tissues and cell lines. Patients with low miR-1246 expression exhibited improved OS rates. In addition, miR-1246 down-regulation notably suppressed cell proliferation and migration and induced cell apoptosis of TU212 and AMC-HN-8 cells. Moreover, THBS1 was predicted and confirmed as a direct target of miR-1246 and negatively related to miR-1246 expression. Mechanically, THBS1 inhibition partially rescued the effects of the miR-1246 inhibitor on pro-liferation, apoptosis and migration of TU212 and AMC-HN-8 cells. This study provides an experimental basis suggesting the potential of miR-1246/THBS1 as the novel markers for LSCC.