Yu Xin, Xu Lijun, Zhou Yongqiang, Zhou Xiaorong, Yang Lei, Zhou Yan
Department of Orthodontics and Periodontology, Affiliated Nantong Stomatological Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong, People's Republic of China.
Department of Clinical Biobank & Institute of Oncology, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University & Medical School of Nantong University, Nantong, People's Republic of China.
J Inflamm Res. 2023 Aug 29;16:3799-3809. doi: 10.2147/JIR.S426277. eCollection 2023.
Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the most common head and neck malignancy with a high mortality rate and poor prognosis. The exploration and understanding of biomarkers will help to further improve the diagnosis and treatment of OSCC.
Tumor tissue samples from 319 OSCC patients were retrospectively collected, along with their clinical information. In combination with bioinformatics tools and multiplex immunohistochemistry (mIHC) analyses, we evaluated NUP62CL protein expression and its relationship to tumor-infiltrating immune cells (TIICs) and immune checkpoints in the tumor microenvironment (TME), as well as its association with clinical features and prognosis of OSCC.
We identified high-NUP62CL expression in OSCC tissues, and high-NUP62CL protein expression was associated with large tumor size, advanced clinical stage and poor prognosis. In addition, NUP62CL protein expression was positively associated with the abundance of CD3+CD4+ T cells (<0.01), CD3+CD8+ T cells (<0.01), CD56+ NK cells (<0.05), CD68+CD86+ macrophages (<0.01) and CD68+CD163+ macrophages (<0.01), as well as the immune checkpoints, including PD-1 (<0.001), PD-L1 (<0.001), and CTLA-4 (<0.001) protein expression.
In conclusion, NUP62CL could be an effective prognostic and immunological biomarker for OSCC patients.
口腔鳞状细胞癌（OSCC）是最常见的头颈部恶性肿瘤，死亡率高且预后较差。对生物标志物的探索和了解将有助于进一步改善OSCC的诊断和治疗。
回顾性收集319例OSCC患者的肿瘤组织样本及其临床信息。结合生物信息学工具和多重免疫组织化学（mIHC）分析，我们评估了NUP62CL蛋白表达及其与肿瘤微环境（TME）中肿瘤浸润免疫细胞（TIICs）和免疫检查点的关系，以及其与OSCC临床特征和预后的关联。
我们在OSCC组织中鉴定出高NUP62CL表达，高NUP62CL蛋白表达与肿瘤体积大、临床分期晚和预后差相关。此外，NUP62CL蛋白表达与CD3 + CD4 + T细胞（<0.01）、CD3 + CD8 + T细胞（<0.01）、CD56 + NK细胞（<0.05）、CD68 + CD86 +巨噬细胞（<0.01）和CD68 + CD163 +巨噬细胞（<0.01）的丰度以及免疫检查点包括PD-1（<0.001）、PD-L1（<0.001）和CTLA-4（<0.001）蛋白表达呈正相关。
总之，NUP62CL可能是OSCC患者有效的预后和免疫生物标志物。
