Lipid metabolites as biomarkers and therapeutic targets in oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Journal: BMC oral health
Published Date: Aug 31, 2025

Abstract

This study explores the association of lipid metabolism disruption and Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC). We aim to identify specific lipid biomarkers and therapeutic targets for OSCC. We included 78 OSCC patients and 80 healthy controls, and applied non-target lipidomics and transcriptomics for comprehensive analysis. Using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole-Orbitrap high-resolution accurate mass spectrometry (UHPLC/Q-Orbitrap HRMS) coupled with machine learning for diagnostic modeling, we identified potential lipid biomarkers. Transcriptomic analysis helped in pinpointing genetic and metabolic targets relevant to lipid metabolism in OSCC. Notably, we observed 70 differential lipid metabolites in the OSCC group, with nine achieving an AUC > 0.95, suggesting high potential as biomarkers. A diagnostic model based on 10 differentiated lipids yielded accuracy rates of 98.2% in a training cohort and 95.7% in a validation cohort. Additionally, the overexpression of DGKG, linked to poor prognosis, was noted to enhance migration and invasion of OSCC cells, marking it a potential target for therapy. This research underscores the critical role of lipid metabolic alterations in OSCC and highlights innovative diagnostic and therapeutic avenues.

Authors

  • Hexin Ma
    The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450000, China.
  • Chang Liu
    Key Lab of Cell Differentiation and Apoptosis of Ministry of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
  • Xibo Li
    The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450000, China.
  • Lihua Zuo
    Department of Pharmacy, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450000, China.
  • Chunshen Li
    Department of Stomatology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710061, China.
  • Xiaohui Xu
    The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450000, China.
  • Shilong Zhang
    The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450000, China.
  • Xiang Ma
    Department of Cardiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, 830011, China.
  • Erli Yue
    The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450000, China.
  • Bin Qiao
    Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, China. qiaobin@zzu.edu.cn.
  • Yifei Wang
    Department of Dermatology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
  • Wantao Chen
    Department of Oral and Maxillofacial-Head & Neck Oncology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai, 200000, China.
  • Zhi Sun
    National Key Laboratory of Biochemical Engineering, Beijing Engineering Research Centre of Process Pollution Control, Institute of Process Engineering, Innovation Academy for Green Manufacture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China.
  • Hongyu Zhao
    SJTU-Yale Joint Center for Biostatistics, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dong Chuan Road, Shanghai 200240, China; Department of Biostatistics, Yale University, New Heaven, USA.

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