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Analysis of cuproptosis-related genes in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma based on bioinformatics and
Qunying Xu1, Chunli Li2, Aixia Zhao1
1Department of Oncology, Baise People's Hospital, Baise, 533000, China.
Background:
This study aims to investigate the role and underlying mechanisms of genes related to cuproptosis in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).
Method:
We obtained the HNSCC-related datasets, and analyzed differentially expression genes (DEGs). This was followed by enrichment analysis and immune infiltration assessment of the differential genes. We used The GSE286234 dataset as a training set to extract differentially expressed cuproptosis-related genes (CRGs), and the expression levels of differentially expressed CRGs, as well as the correlations among them, were analyzed. The SHAP algorithm was applied to identify CRGs associated with HNSCC, followed by Gene Set Variation Analysis (GSVA) and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) on the identified CRGs. The molecular mechanisms of CRGs were validated through in vitro cellular experiments, including Western Blotting, qRT-PCR, and CCK-8 assays.
Result:
Cyclin dependent kinase inhibitor 2 A (CDKN2A) was identified as a potential biomarker for HNSCC. CDKN2A is expressed at low levels in HNSCC patients and is closely associated with immune response and the cell cycle. Interfering with CDKN2A enhanced cancer cell activity. Based on CuCl2-induced cuproptosis in cancer cells, transfection with overexpression vector for CDKN2A (OECDKN2A) indicated that CDKN2A mediated cuproptosis by activating antioxidant protective signals.
Conclusion:
This study identifies CDKN2A as a suppressor gene for HNSCC, which could serve as a potential biomarker for the diagnosis and treatment of this disease. Additionally, it was noted that CDKN2A mediates the occurrence of cuproptosis by activating antioxidant protective signals.
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