IL-6 Promotes Pathological Angiogenesis in Oral Submucous Fibrosis by Suppressing USP10-VEGFR1 Interaction

Oral submucous fibrosis (OSF) is a chronic, progressive, premalignant disorder with expanding epidemiology, rising annual incidence, and increasing malignant transformation rates. Therefore, elucidating its pathogenesis and establishing early intervention strategies remain urgent priorities. In this study, we evaluated the interplay between USP10 and IL-6 and its potential influence on the development of oral submucous fibrosis. Immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence were used to examine the correlation among IL-6, USP10, and pathological angiogenesis in OSF clinical samples and mouse models, revealing high IL-6 expression in the inflammatory microvasculature alongside downregulated USP10. Functional experiments on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) in vitro, including administration of recombinant human IL-6, demonstrated that USP10 inhibited angiogenesis, cell migration, and cell proliferation, and that targeting USP10 reversed IL-6-mediated pathological angiogenesis. RNA sequencing further identified differentially expressed genes in HUVECs, while mass spectrometry, western blotting, and co-immunoprecipitation uncovered that USP10 interacts with vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 1 (VEGFR1) and inhibits its ubiquitination, thereby suppressing angiogenesis. Collectively, these findings indicate that IL-6 promotes pathological angiogenesis by suppressing USP10 and its interaction with VEGFR1, thus accelerating OSF progression, and suggest that targeting USP10 may represent a promising mechanism for further investigation in OSF therapy.