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An integrated genomic approach identifies follistatin as a target of the p63-epidermal growth factor receptor oncogenic network in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Authors :
Oyelakin A
Sosa J
Nayak KB
Glathar A
Gluck C
Sethi I
Tsompana M
Nowak N
Buck M
Romano RA
Sinha S
Source :
NAR cancer [NAR Cancer] 2023 Jul 24; Vol. 5 (3), pp. zcad038. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Jul 24 (Print Publication: 2023).
Publication Year :
2023

Abstract

Although numerous putative oncogenes have been associated with the etiology of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), the mechanisms by which these oncogenes and their downstream targets mediate tumor progression have not been fully elucidated. We performed an integrative analysis to identify a crucial set of targets of the oncogenic transcription factor p63 that are common across multiple transcriptomic datasets obtained from HNSCC patients, and representative cell line models. Notably, our analysis revealed FST which encodes follistatin, a secreted glycoprotein that inhibits the transforming growth factor TGFβ/activin signaling pathways, to be a direct transcriptional target of p63. In addition, we found that FST expression is also driven by epidermal growth factor receptor EGFR signaling, thus mediating a functional link between the TGF-β and EGFR pathways. We show through loss- and gain-of-function studies that FST predominantly imparts a tumor-growth and migratory phenotype in HNSCC cells. Furthermore, analysis of single-cell RNA sequencing data from HNSCC patients unveiled cancer cells as the dominant source of FST within the tumor microenvironment and exposed a correlation between the expression of FST and its regulators with immune infiltrates. We propose FST as a prognostic biomarker for patient survival and a compelling candidate mediating the broad effects of p63 on the tumor and its associated microenvironment.<br /> (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of NAR Cancer.)

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
2632-8674
Volume :
5
Issue :
3
Database :
MEDLINE
Journal :
NAR cancer
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
37492374
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1093/narcan/zcad038