Bioinformatics Analysis of Promoter Methylation and Clinical Significance of Tumor Suppressor Gene HOXA5 in Oral Cancer

The HOXA5 gene is an important tumor suppressor gene, which has the function of regulating cell cycle, proliferation, and differentiation. Down regulation or inactivation of HOXA5 expression occurs in a variety of malignant tumors such as oral cancer (OC) and breast cancer. The promoter region of HOXA5 gene is often methylated, and it is of great value to explore the relationship between its methylation status and gene expression level. The objective of this study was to explore the promoter methylation status of tumor suppressor gene HOXA5 in OC. HOXA5 mRNA expression was detected by RT-PCR. OC CAL-27, H357, and HSC-3 cells were treated with different concentrations of 5-aza-deoxyeytidine to analyze the inhibitory effect of 5-aza-deoxyeytidine on methylation. The methylation status of HOXA5 gene promoter was closely related to OC. 5Aza-CdR could induce the expression of HOXA5 mRNA in OC cells, promote cell apoptosis, and inhibit the growth and spread of tumor cells. The promoter region of HOXA5 gene is hypermethylated in OC. It was concluded that 5Aza-CdR can inhibit the activity of DNA methyltransferase, restore the expression of HOXA5 gene, and inhibit the proliferation and spread of cancer cells.