Correlation of DOK3 expression level in Porphyromonas gingivalis-positive oral squamous cell carcinoma tissues and TAM infiltration with the clinical prognosis of patients
10.3760/cma.j.cn115355-20240523-00262
- VernacularTitle:牙龈卟啉单胞菌阳性口腔鳞状细胞癌组织中DOK3表达水平及TAM浸润与患者临床预后的相关性分析
- Author:
Zhongcheng GONG
1
;
Muqiu LI
;
Chenxi LI
;
Wei WEI
;
Cheng CHEN
;
Bing WANG
;
Wei GUO
;
Guoxin REN
Author Information
1. 新疆医科大学第一附属医院（附属口腔医院）口腔颌面肿瘤外科 新疆维吾尔自治区口腔医学研究所，乌鲁木齐 830054
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Mouth neoplasms;
Carcinoma, squamous cell;
Porphyromonas gingivalis;
Tumor microenvironment;
Macrophages;
Prognosis
- From:
Cancer Research and Clinic
2025;37(4):247-254
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Objective:To explore the expression level of Porphyromonas gingivalis, downstream of tyrosine kinase 3 (DOK3) and tumor-associated macrophage (TAM) in the tumor immunomicroenvironment of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and the correlation with clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of patients.Methods:A retrospective case-control study was conducted. The clinical data of 200 OSCC patients with Porphyromonas gingivalis-positive confirmed by 16S rDNA sequencing technology in the First Affiliated Hospital, Xinjiang Medical University between June 2008 and June 2020 were collected. The tumor tissues and the corresponding adjacent normal mucosal tissues of 6 OSCC patients (including 3 cases with Porphyromonas gingivalis -positive and 3 cases with Porphyromonas gingivalis-negative) were selected for high-throughput sequencing to screen differentially co-expressed genes. Immunohistochemistry method was used to detect the expressions of Porphyromonas gingivalis, DOK3, and CD206 (a TAM marker). The median H score of OSCC tissues was used as the threshold to categorize the expression level of Porphyromonas gingivalis, DOK3 and CD206 into low-expression (H score < threshold) and high-expression (H score ≥ threshold) groups. The overall survival (OS) analysis was conducted by using the Kaplan-Meier method, and the log-rank test was employed.Results:The high-throughput sequencing results revealed that DOK3 is a differentially co-expressed gene among normal oral mucosa, Porphyromonas gingivalis-positive, and Porphyromonas gingivalis-negative OSCC. In 200 patients with Porphyromonas gingivalis-positive OSCC, 139 exhibited high expression of Porphyromonas gingivalis (H score ≥ 7 points), while 61 showed low expression (H score < 7 points). There were statistically significant differences in the expression levels of Porphyromonas gingivalis in patients with different survival status, pathological T stage, pathological N stage, clinical stage, tumor diameter, degree of tumor differentiation and recurrence (all P < 0.05). Among the 139 OSCC patients with high expression of Porphyromonas gingivalis, 92 cases showed high expression of DOK3 (H score ≥ 6 points) and 47 showed low expression (H score < 6 points); 78 cases exhibited high expression of CD206 (H score ≥ 6 points), while 61 showed low expression (H score < 6 points). There were statistically significant differences in the DOK3 expression level in the high expression of Porphyromonas gingivalis OSCC patients with different age, survival status, pathological T stage, pathological N stage, and recurrence (all P < 0.05). There were statistically significant differences in the CD206 expression level in the high expression of Porphyromonas gingivalis OSCC patients with different pathological T stage, clinical stage, and degree of tumor differentiation (all P < 0.05). The expression of Porphyromonas gingivalis was positively correlated with the expressions of DOK3 and CD206 (both P < 0.01). At the last follow-up on April 6th, 2024, the median follow-up time was 45 months (3 to 106 month range). The median OS time of the 200 patients was 2 429 d, and the 3-year OS rate was 63.9%. The OS of OSCC patients with high expressions of Porphyromonas gingivalis, DOK3, and CD206 was worse than that in those with low expressions (all P < 0.05). Conclusions:The high expression levels of Porphyromonas gingivalis, DOK3, and TAM are associated with a poor prognosis of OSCC patients, suggesting their potential as key biomarkers for prognostic evaluation.
