TOM40 as a prognostic oncogene for oral squamous cell carcinoma prognosis

Abstract Background To investigate the role of the translocase of the outer mitochondrial membrane 40 (TOM40) in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) with the aim of identifying new biomarkers or potential therapeutic targets. Methods TOM40 expression level in OSCC was evaluated using datasets downlo...

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Main Authors: Lifei Deng, Hong Ran, Dunhui Yang, Zhen Wang, Peng Zhao, Hengjie Huang, Yongjin Wu, Peng Zhang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-01-01
Series:BMC Cancer
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-024-13417-w
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author Lifei Deng
Hong Ran
Dunhui Yang
Zhen Wang
Peng Zhao
Hengjie Huang
Yongjin Wu
Peng Zhang
author_facet Lifei Deng
Hong Ran
Dunhui Yang
Zhen Wang
Peng Zhao
Hengjie Huang
Yongjin Wu
Peng Zhang
author_sort Lifei Deng
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background To investigate the role of the translocase of the outer mitochondrial membrane 40 (TOM40) in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) with the aim of identifying new biomarkers or potential therapeutic targets. Methods TOM40 expression level in OSCC was evaluated using datasets downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), as well as clinical data. The correlation between TOM40 expression level and the clinicopathological parameters and survival were analyzed in TCGA. The signaling pathways associated with TOM40 were identified through gene set enrichment analysis. A network of genes co-expressed with TOM40 was constructed and functionally annotated by gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses. The immune infiltration pattern in OSCC was analyzed in the TCGA-OSCC cohort using the CIBERSORT algorithm. Clinically significant factors of OSCC were screened through the expression levels of TOM40 and a clinically relevant nomogram was constructed. The TCGA-OSCC cohort was divided into the TOM40 high and TOM40 low groups and the correlation between TOM40 expression level and the sensitivity to frequently used chemotherapeutic drugs was evaluated. CCK-8 and colony formation assays were applied to determine the cell growth. Results TOM40 was highly expressed in OSCC tissues and correlated negatively with the overall survival (P < 0.05). Patients with high TOM40 expression level showed worse prognosis. Furthermore, GO and KEGG enrichment analyses of the differentially expressed genes related to TOM40 showed that these genes are mainly associated with immunity and tumorigenesis. Immunological infiltration analysis has found that the expression levels of TOM40 are correlated with the proportions of several immune cells. Moreover, we found that TOM40 knockdown inhibited cell growth in OSCC cell lines. Conclusions Our results uncovered that TOM40 is a reliable prognostic marker and therapeutic target in OSCC.
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spelling doaj-art-c71561b6132d4ed9ac6a0102ddaad8de2025-01-19T12:26:46ZengBMCBMC Cancer1471-24072025-01-0125111210.1186/s12885-024-13417-wTOM40 as a prognostic oncogene for oral squamous cell carcinoma prognosisLifei Deng0Hong Ran1Dunhui Yang2Zhen Wang3Peng Zhao4Hengjie Huang5Yongjin Wu6Peng Zhang7Jiangxi Cancer Hospital & Institute, Jiangxi Clinical Research Center for Cancer, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang Medical CollegeDepartment of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Head and Neck Surgical Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan UniversityDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Otorhinolaryngology, Longgang Otorhinolaryngology Hospital, Shenzhen Institute of OtorhinolaryngologyDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Otorhinolaryngology, Longgang Otorhinolaryngology Hospital, Shenzhen Institute of OtorhinolaryngologyJiangxi Cancer Hospital & Institute, Jiangxi Clinical Research Center for Cancer, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang Medical CollegeSchool of Computer Science and Engineering, Yulin Normal UniversityDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Otorhinolaryngology, Longgang Otorhinolaryngology Hospital, Shenzhen Institute of OtorhinolaryngologyDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Otorhinolaryngology, Longgang Otorhinolaryngology Hospital, Shenzhen Institute of OtorhinolaryngologyAbstract Background To investigate the role of the translocase of the outer mitochondrial membrane 40 (TOM40) in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) with the aim of identifying new biomarkers or potential therapeutic targets. Methods TOM40 expression level in OSCC was evaluated using datasets downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), as well as clinical data. The correlation between TOM40 expression level and the clinicopathological parameters and survival were analyzed in TCGA. The signaling pathways associated with TOM40 were identified through gene set enrichment analysis. A network of genes co-expressed with TOM40 was constructed and functionally annotated by gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses. The immune infiltration pattern in OSCC was analyzed in the TCGA-OSCC cohort using the CIBERSORT algorithm. Clinically significant factors of OSCC were screened through the expression levels of TOM40 and a clinically relevant nomogram was constructed. The TCGA-OSCC cohort was divided into the TOM40 high and TOM40 low groups and the correlation between TOM40 expression level and the sensitivity to frequently used chemotherapeutic drugs was evaluated. CCK-8 and colony formation assays were applied to determine the cell growth. Results TOM40 was highly expressed in OSCC tissues and correlated negatively with the overall survival (P < 0.05). Patients with high TOM40 expression level showed worse prognosis. Furthermore, GO and KEGG enrichment analyses of the differentially expressed genes related to TOM40 showed that these genes are mainly associated with immunity and tumorigenesis. Immunological infiltration analysis has found that the expression levels of TOM40 are correlated with the proportions of several immune cells. Moreover, we found that TOM40 knockdown inhibited cell growth in OSCC cell lines. Conclusions Our results uncovered that TOM40 is a reliable prognostic marker and therapeutic target in OSCC.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-024-13417-wOSCCTOM40Prognostic markerCell growthTherapeutic target
spellingShingle Lifei Deng
Hong Ran
Dunhui Yang
Zhen Wang
Peng Zhao
Hengjie Huang
Yongjin Wu
Peng Zhang
TOM40 as a prognostic oncogene for oral squamous cell carcinoma prognosis
BMC Cancer
OSCC
TOM40
Prognostic marker
Cell growth
Therapeutic target
title TOM40 as a prognostic oncogene for oral squamous cell carcinoma prognosis
title_full TOM40 as a prognostic oncogene for oral squamous cell carcinoma prognosis
title_fullStr TOM40 as a prognostic oncogene for oral squamous cell carcinoma prognosis
title_full_unstemmed TOM40 as a prognostic oncogene for oral squamous cell carcinoma prognosis
title_short TOM40 as a prognostic oncogene for oral squamous cell carcinoma prognosis
title_sort tom40 as a prognostic oncogene for oral squamous cell carcinoma prognosis
topic OSCC
TOM40
Prognostic marker
Cell growth
Therapeutic target
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-024-13417-w
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