Serum metabolite profiling of a 4-Nitroquinoline-1-oxide-induced experimental oral carcinogenesis model using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

Connecting the dots: investigating the link between environmental, genetic, and epigenetic influences in metabolomic alterations in oral squamous cell carcinoma

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) accounts for around 90% of all oral cancers and is the eighth most common cancer worldwide. Despite progress in managing OSCC, the overall prognosis remains poor, with a survival rate of around 50-60%, largely due to tumor size and recurrence. The challenges of late-stage diagnosis and limitations in current methods emphasize the urgent need for less invasive techniques to enable early detection and treatment, crucial for improving outcomes in this aggressive form of oral cancer. Research is currently aimed at unraveling tumor-specific metabolite profiles to identify candidate biomarkers as well as discover underlying pathways involved in the onset and progression of cancer that could be used as new targets for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. Metabolomics is an advanced technological approach to identify metabolites in different sample types (biological fluids and tissues). Since OSCC promotes metabolic reprogramming influenced by a combination of genetic predisposition and environmental factors, including tobacco and alcohol consumption, and viral infections, the identification of distinct metabolites through screening may aid in the diagnosis of this condition. Moreover, studies have shown the use of metabolites during the catalysis of epigenetic modification, indicating a link between epigenetics and metabolism. In this review, we will focus on the link between environmental, genetic, and epigenetic influences in metabolomic alterations in OSCC. In addition, we will discuss therapeutic targets of tumor metabolism, which may prevent oral tumor growth, metastasis, and drug resistance.

Multi-omics analysis reveals prognostic and therapeutic value of cuproptosis-related lncRNAs in oral squamous cell carcinoma

Background: Extensive research revealed copper and lncRNA can regulate tumor progression. Additionally, cuproptosis has been proven can cause cell death that may affect the development of tumor. However, there is little research focused on the potential prognostic and therapeutic role of cuproptosis-related lncRNA in OSCC patients.

Methods: Data used were for bioinformatics analyses were downloaded from both the TCGA database and GEO database. The R software were used for statistical analysis. Mapping was done using the tool of FigureYa.

Results: The signature consist of 7 cuproptosis-related lncRNA was identified through lasso and Cox regression analysis and a nomogram was developed. In addition, we performed genomic analyses including pathway enrichment analysis and mutation analysis between two groups. It was found that OSCC patients were prone to TP53, TTN, FAT1 and NOTCH1 mutations and a difference of mutation analysis between the two groups was significant. Results of TIDE analysis indicating that patients in low risk group were more susceptible to immunotherapy. Accordingly, results of subclass mapping analysis confirmed our findings, which revealed that patients with low riskscore were more likely to respond to immunotherapy.

Conclusion: We have successfully identified and validated a novel prognostic signature with a strong independent predictive capacity. And we have found that patients with low riskscore were more susceptible to immunotherapy, especially PD-1 inhibitor therapy.

Alteration in Plasma Metabolome in High-Fat Diet-Fed Monocyte Chemotactic Protein-1 Knockout Mice Bearing Pulmonary Metastases of Lewis Lung Carcinoma

Both clinical and laboratory studies have shown that monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) is involved in cancer spread. To understand the role of MCP-1 in metabolism in the presence of metastasis, we conducted an untargeted metabolomic analysis of primary metabolism on plasma collected from a study showing that MCP-1 deficiency reduces spontaneous metastasis of Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) to the lungs in mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD). In a 2 × 2 design, wild-type (WT) or Mcp-1 knockout (Mcp-1 -/-) mice maintained on the AIN93G standard diet or HFD were subcutaneously injected with LLC cells to induce lung metastasis. We identified 87 metabolites for metabolomic analysis from this study. Amino acid metabolism was altered considerably in the presence of LLC metastases with the aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis pathways as the leading pathway altered. The HFD modified lipid and energy metabolism, evidenced by lower contents of arachidonic acid, cholesterol, and long-chain saturated fatty acids and higher contents of glucose and pyruvic acid in mice fed the HFD. These findings were supported by network analysis showing alterations in fatty acid synthesis and glycolysis/gluconeogenesis pathways between the 2 diets. Furthermore, elevations of the citrate cycle intermediates (citric acid, fumaric acid, isocitric acid, and succinic acid) and glyceric acid in Mcp-1 -/- mice, regardless of diet, suggest the involvement of MCP-1 in mitochondrial energy metabolism during LLC metastasis. The present study demonstrates that MCP-1 deficiency and the HFD altered plasma metabolome in mice bearing LLC metastases. These findings can be useful in understanding the impact of obesity on prevention and treatment of cancer metastasis.

4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide (4NQO) induced oral carcinogenesis: A systematic literature review

OBJECTIVE

Based on a critical review of published studies, we aimed to develop a good practice guide for using 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide (4NQO) as an inducer of oral carcinogenesis in Wistar rats.

DESIGN

A systematic search was performed on Medline Ovid, PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Scopus databases. The SYRCLE's risk of bias tool was used to assess the quality of the studies.

RESULTS

Thirty-five articles met the selection criteria; 22 (62.9%) of them administered 4NQO systemically in drinking water, with a mean concentration of 30.2 ppm (SD±15.9) and during a mean period of 20.8 (SD±7.8) weeks. The other 13 (37.1%) studies performed topical applications of 4NQO painting the oral mucosa of the animals three times a week (100%) with a mean period of administration of 16.8 (SD±7.0) weeks. Different 4NQO concentrations used for other periods achieved significant tumor development. Most studies didn't perform quantitative clinical analysis, and the histopathological diagnosis/grading criteria varied considerably.

CONCLUSIONS

A poor description of solution care, adverse effects, and the number of losses were observed, and the reporting of these features needs to be improved. Suggestions to guide the development of future research are provided.