Evaluating the expression of microRNA‐15a‐5p and YAP1 gene in oral squamous cell carcinoma in comparison with normal tissue: A cross‐sectional study

Abstract

BackgroundMicroRNAs (miRNAs) play crucial regulatory roles in cancer progression, including oral cancer (OC). However, the biological mechanisms of miRNA‐15a‐5p in OC remain unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the expression of miRNA‐15a‐5p and the YAP1 gene in OC.MethodsA total of 22 clinically and histologically confirmed oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) patients were recruited, and their tissues were stored in a stabilizing solution. Later, RT‐PCR was performed to evaluate miRNA‐15a‐5p and the targeting gene YAP1. The results of OSCC samples were compared with unpaired normal tissues.ResultsThe normality tests, Kolmogorov–Smirnov and Shapiro–Wilk, revealed a normal distribution. Inferential statistics were performed using an independent sample t‐test/unpaired t‐test among the study intervals to compare the expression of miR‐15a and YAP1. SPSS (IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 26.0, Armonk, NY: IBM Corp. Released 2019) was used to analyse the data. The significance level was set at 5% (α = 0.05), and a p‐value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. The expression of miRNA‐15a‐5p was lower in OSCC than in normal tissue, whereas the opposite was observed for YAP1 levels.ConclusionIn conclusion, this study demonstrated that miRNA‐15a‐5p was downregulated and YAP1 was overexpressed, which had a statistically significant difference between the normal and OSCC groups. Therefore, miRNA‐15a‐5p may serve as a novel biomarker to better understand the pathology and as a potential target in OSCC therapy.