This narrative review examines recent advances in salivary biomarkers for oral squamous cell carcinoma(OSCC),a major subtype of oral cancer with persistently low five-year survival rates due to delayed diagnosis.Saliv...This narrative review examines recent advances in salivary biomarkers for oral squamous cell carcinoma(OSCC),a major subtype of oral cancer with persistently low five-year survival rates due to delayed diagnosis.Saliva has emerged as a noninvasive diagnostic medium capable of reflecting both local tumor activity and systemic physiological changes.Various salivary biomarkers,including microRNAs,cytokines,proteins,metabolites,and exosomes,have been linked to oncogenic signaling pathways involved in tumor progression,immune modulation,and therapeutic resistance.Advances in quantitative polymerase chain reaction,mass spectrometry,and next-generation sequencing have enabled comprehensive biomarker profiling,while point-of-care detection systems and saliva-based omics platforms are accelerating clinical translation.Remaining challenges include variability in salivary composition,lack of standardized collection protocols,and insufficient validation across large patient cohorts.This review highlights the mechanistic relevance,diagnostic potential,and translational challenges of salivary biomarkers in OSCC.展开更多
Background:The regulatory mechanisms governing vasculogenic mimicry(VM)in oral squamous cell carcinoma(OSCC)remain largely undefined.This study aimed to identify critical factors and elucidate the epigenetic mechanism...Background:The regulatory mechanisms governing vasculogenic mimicry(VM)in oral squamous cell carcinoma(OSCC)remain largely undefined.This study aimed to identify critical factors and elucidate the epigenetic mechanisms underlying VM in OSCC.Methods:Bioinformatics analysis was performed utilizing single-cell RNA-seq,bulk RNA-seq,and histone H3 lysine 27 acetylation(H3K27ac)Chromatin Immunoprecipitation(ChIP)-seq data obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas(TCGA)and Gene Expression Omnibus(GEO)databases.ChIP-qPCR was used to validate the binding of ETS transcription factor ELK4(ELK4)to the dihydrofolate reductase(DHFR)enhancer.In vitro VM formation and invasion of OSCC cells were assessed using Matrigel-based tube formation and Transwell assays,respectively.Results:Elevated expression of VM-related genes predicts unfavorable prognosis in OSCC patients.High-dimensional weighted gene co-expression network analysis(hdWGCNA)identified epithelial subcluster C4 as most strongly associated with VM and metastasis.Three co-expression modules within this subcluster exhibited significant positive correlations with both phenotypic traits.Among the 30 eigengenes from the three modules,DHFR emerged as a key regulator of VM and metastasis.Knockdown or inhibition of DHFR significantly suppressed VM formation and invasion in OSCC cells.Mechanistically,ELK4 activated DHFR transcription through direct binding to its enhancer.DHFR overexpression rescued VM and invasion impairment induced by ELK4 knockdown.Conclusion:DHFR was a pivotal enhancer-regulated gene driving VM and metastasis in OSCC.ELK4 directly binds to DHFR enhancer regions to activate its transcription,thereby promoting these malignant phenotypes.These findings identified the ELK4/DHFR axis as a promising therapeutic target for anti-angiogenic intervention in OSCC.展开更多
基金supported by the College of Oral Medicine,Taipei Medical University,Taipei,Taiwan(Grant No.TMUCOM202502)supported by Taipei Medical University Hospital,Taipei,Taiwan(Grant No.114TMUH-NE-05).
文摘This narrative review examines recent advances in salivary biomarkers for oral squamous cell carcinoma(OSCC),a major subtype of oral cancer with persistently low five-year survival rates due to delayed diagnosis.Saliva has emerged as a noninvasive diagnostic medium capable of reflecting both local tumor activity and systemic physiological changes.Various salivary biomarkers,including microRNAs,cytokines,proteins,metabolites,and exosomes,have been linked to oncogenic signaling pathways involved in tumor progression,immune modulation,and therapeutic resistance.Advances in quantitative polymerase chain reaction,mass spectrometry,and next-generation sequencing have enabled comprehensive biomarker profiling,while point-of-care detection systems and saliva-based omics platforms are accelerating clinical translation.Remaining challenges include variability in salivary composition,lack of standardized collection protocols,and insufficient validation across large patient cohorts.This review highlights the mechanistic relevance,diagnostic potential,and translational challenges of salivary biomarkers in OSCC.
基金supported by Hebei Natural Science Foundation(H2024206476)Medical Science Research Project of Hebei(20240101).
文摘Background:The regulatory mechanisms governing vasculogenic mimicry(VM)in oral squamous cell carcinoma(OSCC)remain largely undefined.This study aimed to identify critical factors and elucidate the epigenetic mechanisms underlying VM in OSCC.Methods:Bioinformatics analysis was performed utilizing single-cell RNA-seq,bulk RNA-seq,and histone H3 lysine 27 acetylation(H3K27ac)Chromatin Immunoprecipitation(ChIP)-seq data obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas(TCGA)and Gene Expression Omnibus(GEO)databases.ChIP-qPCR was used to validate the binding of ETS transcription factor ELK4(ELK4)to the dihydrofolate reductase(DHFR)enhancer.In vitro VM formation and invasion of OSCC cells were assessed using Matrigel-based tube formation and Transwell assays,respectively.Results:Elevated expression of VM-related genes predicts unfavorable prognosis in OSCC patients.High-dimensional weighted gene co-expression network analysis(hdWGCNA)identified epithelial subcluster C4 as most strongly associated with VM and metastasis.Three co-expression modules within this subcluster exhibited significant positive correlations with both phenotypic traits.Among the 30 eigengenes from the three modules,DHFR emerged as a key regulator of VM and metastasis.Knockdown or inhibition of DHFR significantly suppressed VM formation and invasion in OSCC cells.Mechanistically,ELK4 activated DHFR transcription through direct binding to its enhancer.DHFR overexpression rescued VM and invasion impairment induced by ELK4 knockdown.Conclusion:DHFR was a pivotal enhancer-regulated gene driving VM and metastasis in OSCC.ELK4 directly binds to DHFR enhancer regions to activate its transcription,thereby promoting these malignant phenotypes.These findings identified the ELK4/DHFR axis as a promising therapeutic target for anti-angiogenic intervention in OSCC.
