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Cancer stem cells (CSCs) constitute a pivotal element within the tumor microenvironment (TME), driving the initiation and progression of cancer. However, the identification of CSCs and their underlying molecular mechanisms in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) remains a formidable challenge. Here, we employed single-cell RNA sequencing of matched primary tumor tissues, paracancerous tissues, and local lymph nodes from three LSCC patients to comprehensively characterize the CSCs in LSCC. Two distinct clusters of stem cells originating from epithelial populations were delineated and verified as CSCs and normal stem cells (NSCs), respectively. CSCs were abundant in the paracancerous tissues compared to those in the tumor tissues. CSCs showed high expression of stem cell marker genes such as PROM1, ALDH1A1, and SOX4, and increased the activity of tumor-related hypoxia, Wnt/β-catenin, and Notch signaling pathways. We then explored the intricate crosstalk between CSCs and the TME cells and identified targets within the TME that related with CSCs. We also found eight marker genes of CSCs that were correlated significantly with the prognosis of LSCC patients. Furthermore, bioinformatics analyses showed that drugs such as erlotinib, OSI-027, and ibrutinib selectively targeted the CSC-specifically expressed genes. In conclusion, our results represent the first comprehensive characterization of CSC properties in LSCC at the single-cell level., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press and Science Press on behalf of the Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences / China National Center for Bioinformation and Genetics Society of China.)

We assessed the association between long-term joint exposure to ambient air pollutants and the risk of laryngeal cancer and whether this risk was modified by genetic susceptibility. We used a multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression model to analyze data from UK Biobank to determine the relationship between long-term exposure to air pollutants-nitric oxide (NO), nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), and 2.5-µm and 10-µm particulate matter (PM 2.5 and PM 10 ) and the risk of laryngeal cancer. In multivariable-adjusted models, in model 3 and compared with the participants with lower quintile scores for air pollution, the participants with the highest quintile scores for air pollution had a higher laryngeal cancer risk. The observed association was more pronounced among the participants who were female, were smokers, had a systolic blood pressure equal to or greater than 120 mmHg, and had diabetes. Compared with the participants with a low GRS and the lowest quintile score for air pollution exposure, those with an intermediate GRS and the highest quintile score for air pollution exposure had a higher risk of laryngeal cancer. Long-term exposure to NO 2 , NO, or PM 2.5 , individually or jointly, was associated with a risk of incident laryngeal cancer, especially in the participants with an intermediate GRS., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

tRNA-derived small RNAs (tsRNAs) participate in several biological processes, including carcinogenesis. The correlations between tsRNAs and human cancers are attracting substantial attention. Nevertheless, the involvement of tsRNAs in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) progression remains unclear. We constructed tsRNAs expression profiles in LSCC and adjacent normal tissues by next-generation sequencing. Interestingly, we identified a specific 5'-tiRNA fragment (tRF-33-Q1Q89P9L842205) that was significantly downregulated and was closely associated with lymph node metastasis and advanced stages of LSCC. Importantly, we found that tRF-33-Q1Q89P9L842205 suppressed cell growth, proliferation, migration, invasion and induced apoptosis in LSCC by directly silencing phosphoinositide 3-kinase catalytic subunit (PIK3CD). We speculated that tRF-33-Q1Q89P9L842205 is a potential diagnostic biomarker for LSCC and acts as a tumor suppressor by directly targeting PIK3CD., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Propose: Laryngeal chondrosarcoma is a rare non-epithelial malignant tumor. At present, the cell type composition and molecular mechanism of laryngeal chondrosarcoma have not been systematically studied., Methods: This study focused on the histopathological and imaging features of a rare primary laryngeal chondrosarcoma in a 74-year-old male. The tumor and its paracancerous cartilage tissue were single-cell sequenced and analyzed and a total of 5455 single cells were obtained. Immunohistochemical levels were also verified., Results: In total five cell types were identified, including chondrocytes, myeloid cells, fibroblasts, lymphocytes, and endothelial cells. We carried out further subgroup analysis, focusing on the classification and differentiation of chondrocytes, functional enrichment analysis, and cellular communication analysis of all cell types, and explored the tumor microenvironment (TME) of laryngeal chondrosarcoma. Immunohistochemistry revealed the SLAMF9 gene was specifically expressed in non-immune cells of chondrosarcoma, but was barely expressed in the normal cartilage tissues adjacent to chondrosarcomas., Conclusion: This single-cell sequencing approach provides clues for deciphering the potential mechanisms of tumor heterogeneity and TME composition in laryngeal chondrosarcoma, and represents an important step towards the treatment of laryngeal chondrosarcoma., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Background: Integrin α5 (ITGA5) was involved in a variety of cancers. However, the role of ITGA5 in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) remains unknown., Methods: The expression of ITGA5 and the corresponding clinicopathological parameters of LSCC patients the TCGA database. Five datasets (GSE51985, GSE59102, GSE84957, GSE27020, and GSE65858) were downloaded from the GEO database as validation sets. Kaplan-Meier plotter, Cox regression analysis, and nomogram were performed to determine the prognostic value of ITGA5 in LSCC. GO, KEGG, and GSEA were used to explore the underlying biological functions of ITGA5 in LSCC. The algorithms ESTIMATE and CIBERSORT were adopted to evaluate the association between ITGA5 and the infiltration of the immune cells. The algorithm pRRophetic was used to estimate the response to chemotherapeutic drugs., Results: The expression of ITGA5 was higher in the LSCC samples and linked to poor overall survival and recurrence-free survival. Further, the Cox regression analysis confirmed that high expression of ITGA5 was an independent unfavorable prognostic factor. The predictive performance of nomogram based on the expression of ITGA5 was accurate and practical. The functional enrichment analysis confirmed that ITGA5 was related to the construction of the components and structures of the extracellular matrix. Finally, patients with high ITGA5 expression were more likely to benefit from docetaxel and gemcitabine., Conclusion: The expression of ITGA5 was elevated in the LSCC and was a predictor for prognosis and chemotherapeutic response in LSCC patients., (© 2022 The Authors. Journal of Clinical Laboratory Analysis published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Pyroptosis, a pro-inflammatory form of programmed cell death, is associated with carcinogenesis and progression. However, there is little information concerning pyroptosis-related genes (PRGs) in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC). Herein, we aim to explore the prognostic value of PRGs in LSCC. The expression and clinical data of 47 PRGs in LSCC patients were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas. A novel prognostic PRG signature was constructed using least absolute shrinkage and selection operator analysis. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were drawn, and Kaplan-Meier survival Cox proportional hazard regression analyses were performed to measure the predictive capacity of the PRG signature. Furthermore, we constructed a six-PRG signature to divide LSCC patients into high- and low-risk groups. Patients in the high-risk group had worse overall survival than the low-risk group. The area under the time-dependent ROC curve was 0.696 for 1 year, 0.784 for 3 years, and 0.738 for 5 years. We proved that the PRGs signature was an independent predictor for LSCC. Functional enrichment analysis indicated that several immune-related pathways were significantly enriched in the low-risk group. Consistent with this, patients with low-risk scores had higher immune scores and better immunotherapeutic responses than the high-risk group. In conclusion, we established a novel PRGs signature that can predict outcome and response to immunotherapy of LSCC, pyroptosis may be a potential target for LSCC.

Background: Laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) brings a heavy blow to the patient's voice. Transfer RNA (tRNA) is a common RNA, the roles of tRNAs in LSCC are largely unknown., Methods: The tRNA expression profile in LSCC tissues and adjacent normal tissues was measured by a tRNA qRT-PCR array. The expression level of tRNA Ini CAT in LSCC tissues and plasmas was detected by qRT-PCR. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was established. tRNA Ini CAT was upregulated by a lentivirus vector in the LSCC cell line. Moreover, tRNA Ini CAT was upregulated in LSCC xenograft nude mouse model and the xenografts were used for pathological analysis and transmission electron microscope (TEM) observation., Results: The top 10 upregulated tRNAs were tRNA Lys CTT -1, tRNA Leu TAA , tRNA Phe GAA , tRNA Leu CAG , tRNA Tyr ATA , tRNA Met CAT , tRNA Tyr GTA -1, tRNA Thr CGT , tRNA Tyr GTA -2, tRNA Ala AGC ; and the top 10 downregulated tRNAs were tRNA Ini CAT , mt-tRNA Glu TTC , tRNA Val CAC -3, mt-tRNA Trp TCA , mt-tRNA Tyr GTA , mt-tRNA Lys TTT , mt-tRNA Thr TGT , mt-tRNA Asp GTC , mt-tRNA Asn GTT , mt-tRNA Pro TGG . tRNA Ini CAT was downregulated in LSCC tissues and plasma. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) in LSCC tissues and the plasma of patients with LSCC was 0.717 and 0.808, respectively. tRNA Ini CAT inhibited LSCC cell proliferation and promoted apoptosis. The in vivo results showed that tRNA Ini CAT inhibited the growth of the xenografts and promoted apoptosis., Conclusions: This is the first study to provide tRNA expression profiles for LSCC tissues. tRNA Ini CAT may be used as a new biomarker for the early diagnosis of LSCC. tRNA Ini CAT inhibits cell proliferation and promotes apoptosis in vitro and in vivo., (© 2021 The Authors. Journal of Clinical Laboratory Analysis published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Background: The effect of miR-182 on the expressions of CRR9 in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) cells, and the impact on invasion and metastasis of LSCC were investigated in the present paper., Methods: The expressions of miR-182 in LSCC tissue and cell line were detected by RT-qPCR. MTT assay and Annexin V staining were used to detect the effects of miR-182 on tumor cells proliferation. Target gene prediction and screening, and luciferase reporter assay were designed to verify downstream target genes of miR-182. The mRNA and protein expressions of CRR9 were detected by qRT-PCR and Western blot. Finally, the expressions of CRR9 were measured by transfecting cells with miR-182 in mice., Results: Compared with normal tissue and cell, the expressions of miR-182 in tumor tissues and cells were much lower. Over-expressions of miR-182 can increase apoptosis rate. Luciferase reporter assay revealed that CRR9 was a downstream gene of miR-182. Reintroduction of CRR9 abolished miR-182-induced LSCC cell growth inhibition. In animal models, over-expressions of miR-182 can reduce tumor weight and promote apoptosis., Conclusion: miR-182 can inhibit the proliferation of LSCC cells by directly inhibiting the expressions of CRR9, thereby suppressing the occurrences and developments of LSCC., (© 2019 The Author(s).)

Background: Estrogen-related receptor gamma (ESRRG) has been identified as a tumor suppressor gene in several cancers. We aimed to evaluate ESRRG promoter methylation in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) and its relative clinical value in LSCC., Methods: Bisulfite pyrosequencing assays were performed on 91 pairs of tumor and paracancer tissues from LSCC patients in China. The diagnostic value and overall survival (OS) were analyzed descriptively by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and the Kaplan-Meier methods, respectively., Results: The ESRRG promoter was more frequently hypermethylated in tumor tissues than in adjacent tissues (P < 0.01). ESRRG promoter methylation was significantly increased in advanced T stage tumors (P < 0.01) and advanced clinical stage patients (P < 0.01). Moreover, the area under the ROC curve (AUC) value (0.81) indicated high discrimination accuracy. Furthermore, ESRRG hypermethylation was associated with poor OS, as confirmed by Kaplan-Meier survival curves (P < 0.01)., Conclusion: Our study indicated that ESRRG promoter hypermethylation contributed to LSCC-related risks, primarily tumor progression and survival prognosis, in patients. ESRRG promoter methylation could, therefore, be a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in LSCC., (© 2019 The Authors. Journal of Clinical Laboratory Analysis Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Background: The incidence of laryngeal carcinoma is increasing, however, the mechanism is not fully understood. We aimed to investigate the efficacy of periostin gene silencing by siRNA on tumor inhibition, in a novel nude mouse model of human laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma, and to explore possible inhibitory mechanisms., Methods: Tumors were established in nude mice by transplantation of LSCC AMC-HN-8 cell line. Forty-eight nude mice were randomly divided into groups of eight each, and treated with high (1.0 OD) or low (0.5 OD) doses of periostin-siRNA or appropriate control solutions. Tumor growth was observed and used to calculate an inhibition rate (%). Routine pathological and electron microscopic examination were used to determine tumor apoptosis and proliferation. Changes in periostin mRNA and protein levels were analyzed., Results: Tumor growth was significantly inhibited in mice treated by high dose periostin-siRNA compared to untreated and those treated with low dose periostin-siRNA (P < 0.05). Pathological examination showed increased tumor necrosis and apoptotic changes in treated mice, which was confirmed by electron microscopy. Periostin mRNA and protein expression were significantly reduced in tumors from mice treated with high dose periostin-siRNA, compared to controls and low-dose periostin-siRNA treatment groups (P < 0.05)., Conclusion: Periostin silencing was associated with growth inhibition of tumor cells in a nude mouse model of LSCC. The underlying mechanism may be due to receptor-mediated induction of relevant signal transduction pathways that modulate the microenvironment needed for cancer cell survival. Periostin is expected to become a new target for cancer therapy., (© 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNA) were discovered in tumors. The regulation of lncRNA in human laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) remains incomplete. Uncovering the potential of lncRNA to stratify the prognosis of LSCC and streamline the vast amount of clinical information will affect medical interventions. The surgical resected LSCC tissues, adjacent non-cancerous tissues (ANCT) and lymph node metastatic tissue (LNM) were collected from 76 patients for lncRNA AC008440.10 expression assay. The stages of LSCC and LNM were classified accordingly. We integrated the epigenetic information with enhanced CT imaging and pathological evaluations to predict the patients' survival by comprehensive statistical algorithms using equal weighting. Significant downregulation of lncRNA AC008440.10 was detected in LSCC tumor and metastatic lymph node in advanced stage of patient samples compared with those in early stage. The pattern of differentially expressed AC008440.10 displayed a clear trend that significantly related to tumor progression. The downregulation of lncRNA AC008440.10 correlates with increasing risk of metastasis, poor prognosis and patient survival. The potential for lncRNA AC008440.10 to be developed as a novel biomarker for stratification of the prognosis was especially promising when clinic parameters were hybridized with equal weight, and using a panel of complementary parameters yielded a more powerful predictability of LSCC prognosis than any single parameter individually., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) AC026166.2-001 was found to be down-regulated in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) tissues and metastatic neck lymph nodes. Decreased AC026166.2-001 was associated with poorer prognosis and may act as a novel biomarker for LSCC patients. In this study, AC026166.2-001 was overexpressed by a lentivirus vector and down-regulated by a small interfering RNA (siRNA). The results of real-time cell analysis (RTCA) and a plate colony formation assay showed that AC026166.2-001 inhibited LSCC cell proliferation and the clone-forming capacity. Cell cycle distribution and related protein changes were measured by flow cytometry. AC026166.2-001 arrested the cell cycle at the G1 phase and induced apoptosis. In addition, AC026166.2-001 decreased cell migration as measured by wound healing assays and transwell migration assays. Moreover, luciferase reporter assay and Western blotting results suggested that AC026166.2-001 acts as a sponge of miR-24-3p and regulates the expression of p27 and cyclin D1. The in vivo results showed that AC026166.2-001 significantly suppressed the growth of LSCC xenografts and promoted apoptosis. We validated the molecular mechanisms underlying AC026166.2-001 in LSCC. This is the first report of AC026166.2-001 acting as a tumor suppressor in LSCC by regulating the miR-24-3p/p27 axis.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the contribution of SHISA3 promoter methylation to laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC). SHISA3 promoter methylation status and expression were determined using methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction (MSP) and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) in 93 paired LSCC and adjacent normal tissues, respectively. Furthermore, the regulatory function of the SHISA3 promoter fragment was analyzed using a luciferase reporter assay. The results reveal that there is a significant increase in SHISA3 methylation in LSCC tissues compared with corresponding nontumor tissues ( P = 4.58 E - 12). The qRT-PCR results show a significant association between SHISA3 methylation and expression in LSCC ( P = 1.67 E - 03). In addition, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.91. Consequently, a log-rank test and multivariate Cox analysis suggest that SHISA3 promoter hypermethylation is a predictor of poor overall survival for LSCC (log-rank P = 0.024; HR = 2.71; 95% CI = 1.024-7.177; P = 0.047). The results indicate that SHISA3 promoter hypermethylation might increase the risk of LSCC through regulation of gene expression and is a potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for LSCC., Competing Interests: The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this article.

Objective: To investigate the effect of silencing DJ-1 on xenografted human laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) Hep-2 cells in nude mice. Methods: Xenograft model of human LSCC was established by subcutaneous transplantation of Hep-2 cells in 24 nude mice. The LSCC-bearing nude mice were randomly divided into 3 groups ( n =8 in each):DJ-1 siRNA low dose group and DJ-1 siRNA high dose group were injected in tumors with 20 μg of DJ-1 siRNA or 40 μg of DJ-1 siRNA in 50 μL, respectively; control group was injected with 5% glucose solution in 50 μL, twice a week for 3 weeks. The weight and size of tumors were measured before injection. The animals were sacrificed 48 h after the final treatment, and the tumors were harvested and weighed. The apoptosis and proliferation of tumor cells were determined; the expressions of Caspase-3 and Ki-67 in tumor specimens were detected with immunohistochemistry. The expression of DJ-1, PTEN, survivin mRNA and protein in tumor tissues were detected by RT-PCR and Western blotting, respectively. Results: Tumor weight in low dose group[(0.66±0.15)g] and high dose group[(0.48±0.11)g] were significantly lower than that in control group[(0.83±0.16)g, all P <0.05]. The inhibition rates of low dose group and high dose group were (20.48±0.18)% and (42.16±0.13)%, respectively. Immunohistochemistry showed that the expression of Caspase-3 was increased and Ki-67 was reduced in tumor specimens, compared with the control group (all P <0.05). RT-PCR and Western blot results showed that in low dose group and high dose group the mRNA and protein expression of DJ-1 and survivin significantly decreased (all P <0.05), while PTEN mRNA and protein content increased (all P <0.05). Conclusion: High dose DJ-1 siRNA can inhibit the tumor growth in human LSCC xenograft nude mouse model, which indicates that down-regulating DJ-1 and survivin, and up-regulating PTEN expression may lead to blockage of PI3K-PKB/Akt signaling pathway and promoting tumor cell apoptosis.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are novel transcripts that may play important roles in cancer. Our study aimed to resolve the lncRNA profile of larynx squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) and to determine its clinical significance. The global lncRNA expression profile in LSCC tissues was measured by lncRNA microarray. Distinctly expressed lncRNAs were identified and levels of AC026166.2-001 and RP11-169D4.1-001 lncRNAs in 87 LSCC samples and paired adjacent normal tissue were analyzed by real-time quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The clinical significance of these lncRNAs in laryngeal cancer was analyzed and survival data were estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method and the log-rank test. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was constructed to check the diagnostic value. In the lncRNA expression profile of tumor samples, 684 lncRNAs were upregulated and 747 lncRNAs were downregulated (fold-change >2.0). Of these, AC026166.2-001 and RP11-169D4.1-001 were distinctly dysregulated, with AC026166.2-001 exhibiting lower expression in cancer tissues and RP11-169D4.1-001 higher expression. We verified that both AC026166.2-001 and RP11-169D4.1-001 were expressed at a lower level in cervical lymph nodes compared with paired laryngeal cancer tissues and paired normal tissues. RP11-169D4.1-001 levels were positively correlated with lymph node metastasis (P = 0.007). From the survival analysis, decreased levels of AC026166.2-001 and RP11-169D4.1-001 were associated with poorer prognosis. The area under the ROC curve was up to 0.65 and 0.67, respectively, and the cut-off point of ΔCt was 11.23 and 10.53, respectively. AC026166.2-001 and RP11-169D4.1-001 may act as novel biomarkers in LSCC and may be potential therapeutic targets for LSCC patients. Both AC026166.2-001 and RP11-169D4.1-001 could be independent prognostic factors for survival in LSCC.

Objective: To investigate the effects of microRNA-519b-3p (miR-519b-3p) on laryngeal carcinoma Hep-2 cell growth, and to analyze the underlying molecular mechanisms., Methods: The effects of miR-519b-3p on the growth and cell cycle of Hep-2 cells transfected with miR-519b-3p mimic were tested by MTT assay and flow cytometry, respectively. The mRNA and protein expressions of the related genes were tested by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blot, respectively. The expressions of miR-519b-3p were tested by real-time RT-PCR in 48 pairs of laryngeal carcinoma and adjacent tissue samples., Results: The expression of miR-519b-3p in laryngeal carcinoma tissues was significant lower than that in adjacent non-cancerous tissues (S(ΔCt) = 2.989, t = 2.693, P < 0.01) . Increasing the level of miR-519b-3p inhibited significantly Hep-2 cell proliferation, arrested the cell cycle in the G2/M phase (10.29% ± 4.63%, t = 4.395, P < 0.05) , and decreased significantly the percentage of cells in the S phase (7.56% ± 2.05%, t = 3.555, P < 0.05) , with the increase in the expression of cyclin dependent kinase (CDK) 1 and the decrease in the expressions of CDK 2 and Cyclin A. RT-PCR and Western blot showed that miR-519b-3p down-regulated the protein but not mRNA expressions of HuR and cyclooxygenase-2(COX-2) genes., Conclusions: The expression of MiR-519b-3p as carcinoma suppressor gene is low in laryngeal carcinoma. The cell cycle of Hep-2 cells was arrested in the G2/M phase by MiR-519b-3p.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs), the endogenous noncoding RNAs, are involved in carcinogenesis. Laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) is the common cancer in head and neck. Whether miRNAs can be used in the diagnosis of LSCC is largely unknown. The purpose of this study was to identify whether miRNAs could be use as potential biomarkers for LSCC diagnosis. The expression levels of miR-21, miR-106b and miR-375, in LSCC tissues and paired nontumor tissues were first quantitatively analyzed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Then, the relationships between their expression levels and clinicopathological parameters of patients with LSCC were further determined. We found that these miRNAs' expression levels were significantly different between LSCC tissues and adjacent normal tissues. Two miRNAs, miR-21 and miR-106b were found up-regulated in cancer tissues (P=0.0012 and P<0.001, respectively), while miR-375 down-regulated (P<0.001). Moreover, miR-21 and miR-106b levels were found significantly increased in poorly (G3)/moderately differentiated (G2) cancer tissues comparing with well differentiated (G1) and dysplasia (D) tissues (P<0.001, respectively). Their levels were also positively associated with lymph node metastasis (P<0.05) and TNM stages (P<0.01). However, miR-375 expression level was only found negatively associated with TNM stages. Our preliminary data suggest that three miRNAs, miR-21, miR-106b and miR- 375 might become novel tumor markers for LSCC diagnosis.