Zou Bo, Li Jun, Xu Kai, Liu Jian-Lin, Yuan Dao-Ying, Meng Zhen, Zhang Bin
Department of Oral Maxillofacial Surgery, School of Stomatology, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250100, P.R. China.
Key Laboratory of Oral Maxillofacial-Head and Neck Medical Biology of Shandong Province, Liaocheng People's Hospital, Medical College of Liaocheng University, Liaocheng, Shandong 252000, P.R. China.
Exp Ther Med. 2019 May;17(5):4089-4099. doi: 10.3892/etm.2019.7442. Epub 2019 Mar 26.
Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is one of the most common types of malignant head and neck tumor, which poses a serious threat to human health. In recent years, the incidence of OSCC has been increasing, while the prognosis has not significantly improved. Elucidation of the molecular mechanisms underlying the development of OSCC may provide novel therapeutic strategies. In the present study, the gene expression profiles from 4 datasets, including 244 OSCC and 95 normal oral mucosa samples, were subjected to statistical and Bioinformatics analysis. A total of 34 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified, among which 14 were upregulated and 20 were downregulated in OSCC compared with normal oral mucosa tissues. Gene Ontology enrichment analysis indicated that the DEGs were mainly involved in regulation of the immune response, cell adhesion and cell proliferative processes. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis revealed that the DEGs were mainly associated with the phosphoinositide-3 kinase Akt and Toll-like receptor signaling pathway. The key candidate DEGs were identified from the complex protein-protein interaction network, and secreted phosphoprotein 1 (SPP1), integrin subunit α 3 and plasminogen activator, urokinase (PLAU) were confirmed to be significantly associated with the survival rate. Cell Counting Kit-8 and Transwell assays demonstrated that SPP1 and PLAU regulate cell proliferation, migration and invasion. The candidate genes/pathways identified in the present study may include promising diagnostic biomarkers or therapeutic targets for OSCC.
口腔鳞状细胞癌（OSCC）是头颈部最常见的恶性肿瘤类型之一，对人类健康构成严重威胁。近年来，OSCC的发病率一直在上升，而其预后并未得到显著改善。阐明OSCC发生发展的分子机制可能会提供新的治疗策略。在本研究中，对来自4个数据集的基因表达谱进行了统计和生物信息学分析，这些数据集包括244个OSCC样本和95个正常口腔黏膜样本。共鉴定出34个差异表达基因（DEG），与正常口腔黏膜组织相比，其中14个在OSCC中上调，20个下调。基因本体富集分析表明，这些DEG主要参与免疫反应调节、细胞黏附和细胞增殖过程。京都基因与基因组百科全书通路分析显示，这些DEG主要与磷酸肌醇-3激酶Akt和Toll样受体信号通路相关。从复杂的蛋白质-蛋白质相互作用网络中鉴定出关键候选DEG，证实分泌磷蛋白1（SPP1）、整合素亚基α3和尿激酶型纤溶酶原激活剂（PLAU）与生存率显著相关。细胞计数试剂盒-8和Transwell实验表明，SPP1和PLAU调节细胞增殖、迁移和侵袭。本研究中鉴定出的候选基因/通路可能包括有前景的OSCC诊断生物标志物或治疗靶点。
