Title:The Potential of Lipid Droplet-associated Genes as Diagnostic and Prognostic Biomarkers in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Volume: 27
Issue: 1
Author(s): Yu-Ting Bai, Xin Wang, Ming-Jing He, Ji-Rong Xie, Xiao-Jie Chen and Gang Zhou*
Affiliation:
- The State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Basic Science of Stomatology (Hubei-MOST) and Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedicine Ministry of Education, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China
- Department of Oral Medicine, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China
Keywords:
Lipid droplets, lipid droplet-associated genes, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, lipid metabolism, AUP1, CAV1, CAV2, SQLE.
Abstract:
Abstract: Objective: The role of lipid droplets (LDs) and lipid droplet-associated genes (LD-AGs)
remains unclear in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). This study aimed to investigate
LDs in HNSCC and identify LD-AGs essential for the diagnosis and prognosis of HNSCC
patients.
Methods: The LDs in the HNSCC and normal cell lines were stained with oil red O. Bioinformatic
analysis was used to find LD-AGs in HNSCC that had diagnostic and prognostic significance.
Results: LDs accumulation was increased in HNSCC cell lines compared with normal cell lines
(P<0.05). Fifty-three differentially expressed genes, including 34 upregulated and 19 downregulated,
were found in HNSCC based on the TCGA platform (P<0.05). Then, 53 genes were proved to
be functionally enriched in lipid metabolism and LDs. Among them, with an AUC value > 0.7, 34
genes demonstrated a high predictive power. Six genes (AUP1, CAV1, CAV2, CAVIN1, HILPDA, and
SQLE) out of 34 diagnostic genes were linked to overall survival in patients with HNSCC (P<0.05).
The significant prognostic factors AUP1, CAV1, CAV2, and SQLE were further identified using the
univariate and multivariate cox proportional hazard models (P<0.05). The protein expression of
CAV2 and SQLE was significantly increased in the HNSCC tissue compared to normal tissues
(P<0.05). Finally, the knockdown of the four LD-AGs decreased LDs accumulation, respectively.
Conclusions: Increased LDs accumulation was a hallmark of HNSCC, and AUP1, CAV1, CAV2,
and SQLE were discovered as differentially expressed LD-AGs with diagnostic and prognostic
potential in HNSCC.