Khoshbayan Amin, Narimisa Negar, Razavi Shabnam, Shariati Aref, Tavakoli-Yaraki Masoumeh, Darban-Sarokhalil Davood, Emami Razavi Amirnader
Microbial Biotechnology Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Mol Biol Rep. 2025 Aug 12;52(1):821. doi: 10.1007/s11033-025-10926-0.
Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the most prevalent form of oral cancer, with about one-third of patients facing life-threatening and recurrent cases. Certain pathobionts in the oral microbiome contribute to the rise of inflammation and are directly involved in carcinogenesis. Analysis of the microbial profiles in OSCC patients reveals significant differences compared to healthy individuals. This study investigates the microbial composition, microRNA (miRNA) expression, and their related genes for the first time in Iranian patients diagnosed with OSCC.
The relative presence of Fusobacterium nucleatum, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Fusobacterium periodonticum, and Prevotella intermedia was assessed in both tumor and adjacent normal tissues using Real-time PCR on 20 pairs of fresh-frozen OSCC samples. The expression levels of four miRNAs (miR-21, miR-31, miR-26a, and miR-29a) and five target genes were investigated. Eventually, any potential association between these bacteria's presence and miRNAs' expression was analyzed.
P. gingivalis and F. nucleatum were significantly more abundant in tumor samples than in the control samples. However, the other two bacteria did not show significant differences between the tumor and control samples. The relative expression levels of both oncomiRs were significantly higher in tumors compared to control samples. The analysis indicates a significant association between the presence of F. nucleatum and miR-21 expression. Additionally, a significant association was identified between P. gingivalis and the expression of miR-31. In addition, LOXL2 was the only miRNA-related gene that showed a substantial increase in tumor tissue compared to the control.
There is a significant association between the presence of F. nucleatum and miR-21; a relationship has been reported in colorectal cancer and is now observed in OSCC, and the expression of miR-31 was significantly correlated with P. gingivalis. Further research is needed to explore the prevalence and potential mechanisms of pathobionts and miRNA expression in OSCC.
口腔鳞状细胞癌（OSCC）是口腔癌最常见的形式，约三分之一的患者面临危及生命和复发的情况。口腔微生物群中的某些致病共生菌会导致炎症增加，并直接参与致癌过程。与健康个体相比，OSCC患者的微生物谱分析显示出显著差异。本研究首次调查了伊朗OSCC患者的微生物组成、微小RNA（miRNA）表达及其相关基因。
使用实时PCR对20对新鲜冷冻的OSCC样本的肿瘤组织和相邻正常组织中具核梭杆菌、牙龈卟啉单胞菌、牙周梭杆菌和中间普氏菌的相对存在情况进行评估。研究了四种miRNA（miR-21、miR-31、miR-26a和miR-29a）和五个靶基因的表达水平。最终，分析了这些细菌的存在与miRNA表达之间的任何潜在关联。
牙龈卟啉单胞菌和具核梭杆菌在肿瘤样本中的丰度显著高于对照样本。然而，其他两种细菌在肿瘤样本和对照样本之间未显示出显著差异。与对照样本相比，两种致癌miRNA在肿瘤中的相对表达水平均显著更高。分析表明具核梭杆菌的存在与miR-21表达之间存在显著关联。此外，还发现牙龈卟啉单胞菌与miR-31的表达之间存在显著关联。此外，与对照相比，赖氨酰氧化酶样蛋白2（LOXL2）是唯一在肿瘤组织中显著增加的miRNA相关基因。
具核梭杆菌的存在与miR-21之间存在显著关联；在结直肠癌中已报道过这种关系，现在在OSCC中也观察到了，并且miR-31的表达与牙龈卟啉单胞菌显著相关。需要进一步研究以探索OSCC中致病共生菌和miRNA表达的普遍性及潜在机制。
