miR-429 suppresses progression and metastasis of salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma by targeting ZEB1.

miR-429 is a tumor suppressor that has been observed in various cancers. The exact mechanism by which miR-429 affects salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma(SACC) is not fully understood. Initially, the expression of miR-429 and zinc finger E-box-binding homeobox 1 (ZEB1) in tumor tissues and matched adjacent non-tumor tissues of SACC patients were inspected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Next, CCK-8, wound healing, transwell, and dorsal root ganglion (DRG) co-culture models were used to explore the effects of miR-429 on SACC cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and perineural invasion (PNI). Finally, the downstream target genes of miR-429 were screened and validated through bioinformatics analysis and dual-luciferase reporter analysis, and the regulatory role of miR-429 on epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in SACC cells was explored. miR-429 was poorly expressed while ZEB1 was substantially expressed in SACC tumor tissues. Elevated levels of miR-429 led to a significant suppression of SACC cell of proliferation, migration, invasion, and PNI. ZEB1 was screened and validated as a downstream target gene of miR-429. High concentrations of miR-429 also markedly lowered the expression of ZEB1 in SACC cells, thereby inhibiting EMT. These results suggest that miR-429 is lowly expressed in SACC, may suppress progression and metastasis of SACC cells, and is associated with ZEB1 and the EMT pathway.