microRNA-504 inhibits cancer cell proliferation via targeting CDK6 in hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma

Our recent study of the microRNA (miRNA) expression signature of hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (HSCC) revealed that microRNA-504 (miR-504) is significantly downregulated in HSCC tissues, suggesting that this miRNA is a candidate tumor suppressor. However, several previous reports indicated that miR-504 has an oncogenic function through targeting TP53. The aim of this study was to investigate the functional significance of miR-504 in cancer cells and to identify novel targets regulated by this miRNA in HSCC cells. First, we confirmed the downregulation of miR-504 in HSCC clinical specimens (P<0.0001) by qPCR. Using two sources of miR-504 to restore function, we observed significant inhibition of cancer cell proliferation in head and neck SCC (HNSCC) cell lines (Fa Du, SAS and HSC3) and HCT116 colon carcinoma cells (p53(+/+) and p53(-/-)). In HNSCC cells, induction of cell cycle arrest was observed by miR-504 transfection. To identify the molecular targets of miR-504, we performed gene expression analysis of miR-504 transfectants and in silico database analyses. Our data showed that cell cycle-related genes (RBI, CDK6, CDC23 and CCNDI) were candidate target genes of miR-504. In HSCC clinical specimens, the expression of cyclin-dependent kinase 6 (CDK6) was significantly higher in cancer tissues compared to non-cancer tissues (P=0.0004). A significant inverse correlation between CDK6 and miR-504 expression was found (r=-0.43, P=0.0039). Expression of miR-504 inhibited CDK6 expression in HNSCC cells. Loss of tumor-suppressive miR-504 enhanced HSCC cell proliferation through targeting CDK6. The identification of novel tumor-suppressive miR-504-mediated molecular pathways and targets provide new insights into HSCC oncogenesis.