Abstract
Recent investigations have suggested that microRNA-129-5p (miR-129-5p) is commonly dysregulated in multiple types of malignancies. Nevertheless, the roles of miR-129-5p in human oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) are not well explored. Herein, we demonstrated that miR-129-5p was down-expressed in OSCC cells and tissues. Moreover, miR-129-5p overexpression restrained the growth, migration ability, and invasiveness of OSCC cells. Notably, high-mobility group box 1 protein (HMGB1) was identified as a downstream target of miR-129-5p. Additional, knockdown of HMGB1 suppressed the growth and aggressive phenotypes of human OSCC cells. Importantly, re-expression of HMGB1 impaired the inhibitory impacts of miR-129-5p on the metastasis of OSCC cells. Altogether, these results implied that miR-129-5p restrained the aggressiveness of OSCC cells through modulating HMGB1.