Preliminary Extracellular Vesicle Profiling in Drainage Fluid After Neck Dissection in OSCC

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Proteomics
• Biochemistry

Background:

• Lymph node metastasis significantly impacts oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) prognosis.
• Postoperative drainage fluid (PDF) and its derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) in OSCC metastasis remain understudied.
• Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are crucial in transferring oncogenic molecules, influencing tumorigenesis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To elucidate the proteomic profile of extracellular vesicles derived from postoperative drainage fluid (PDF-EVs) in OSCC.
• To compare PDF-EVs between OSCC patients with and without lymph node metastasis (LN+ vs. LN- groups).
• To identify potential protein biomarkers associated with lymph node metastasis in OSCC.

Main Methods:

• Collected PDF from OSCC patients post-neck dissection.
• Utilized label-free liquid chromatography tandem-mass spectrometry for proteomic profiling of PDF-EVs.
• Compared protein expression profiles between LN+ and LN- groups.

Main Results:

• Identified 2,134 proteins in PDF-EVs, with 313 differentially expressed between groups.
• PDF-EVs were primarily derived from epithelial and immune cells.
• Elevated levels of metabolic proteins EHD2 and CAVIN1 in PDF-EVs from the LN+ group were positively correlated with lymph node metastasis.

Conclusions:

• This study provides the first proteomic characterization of PDF-EVs in OSCC.
• Differentially expressed proteins, particularly EHD2 and CAVIN1, may serve as indicators of lymph node metastasis in OSCC.
• Findings offer a foundation for understanding the role of PDF-EVs in OSCC metastasis and developing diagnostic strategies.