Integrin-α5 promoted the progression of oral squamous cell carcinoma and modulated PI3K/AKT signaling pathway

Background: Integrin-alpha 5 (ITGA5) gene has been reported to be critical for the progression of several cancers. However, the effects of ITGA5 in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) remain unclear. Methods: We firstly used bioinformatics methods to analyze the ITGA5 gene expression based on the public dataset. HO1-N-1 and SCC-9 cells with silenced ITGA5 were constructed using siRNA. Then, we determined the biological functions of ITGA5 in OSCC cells using cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay, colony formation assay, wound healing assay and transwell assays. The expression of PI3K, p-PI3K, AKT, p-AKT, ERK and PERK were determined by western blot. Results: Our results revealed that ITGA5 expression was up-regulated in OSCC. The biological experiments further confirmed that ITGA5 expression was higher in OSCC cell lines. Moreover, we found that knockdown of ITGA5 inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion of OSCC cells. The expression of phosphorylated-(p) PI3K, p-AKT and p-ERK obviously decreased after knockdown of ITGA5 in OSCC cells. Conclusion: In summary, ITGA5 could promote the progression of OSCC via activating the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway, and it can be regarded as a potential biomarker for OSCC treatment.