Chinese Journal of Clinical Anatomy ›› 2024, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (2): 174-180.doi: 10.13418/j.issn.1001-165x.2024.2.10

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Screening and analysis of key genes in macrophages of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma 

Hou Xiaorui1, Li Haokun1, Song Yifang1, Chang Ruoshui1, Xue Xiaolei2, Zhang Qianbing3, Wu Sha1,4, Wang Nisha5*   

  1. 1.Department of Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Functional Proteomics, Guangzhou 510515, China;  2.Department of Pathology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China;  3.Institute of Cancer, School of Basic Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China;  4.National Medical Basic Experimental Teaching Demonstration Center, Guangzhou 510515, China;  5.Department of Biochemistry, School of Basic Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
  • Received:2023-11-14 Online:2024-03-25 Published:2024-04-22

Abstract: Objective   To analyze and screen potential key genes in macrophages of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) by bioinformatics, and to provide a target for the prognosis of HNSCC. Methods    The macrophage population was captured by using uniform manifold approximation and projection (UMAP) dimensionality reduction based on online database. Furthermore, T-distributed random neighbor embedding (tSNE) clustering was used to analyze the changes of cell population distribution in tumor tissue and normal tissue, and to screen the expression of differential genes. Monocle package was used to analyze the expression of key risk genes in cells at different developmental stages. The survival curve was analyzed using Kaplan-Meier Plotter online data platform. Spatial transcriptome technology was used to verify the expression mapping of key genes in tissues. Clinical samples were validated by multicolor fluorescence immunohistochemistry.   Results   Seven macrophage subgroups were captured, of which the first subgroup existed only in tumor tissue and SPP1 gene was highly enriched. The high expression of SPP1 tended to the M2-type polarization of macrophages and was in the terminal stage of cell differentiation. SPP1+ macrophages had active functions such as glycolysis, hypoxia, epithelialization, and angiogenesis. The expression of SPP1+ macrophages was negatively correlated with the prognosis of HNSCC patients.    Conclusions   SPP1 may be a valuable prognostic biomarker in HNSCC.

Key words: HNSCC,  ,  ,  , SPP1,  ,  ,  , Tumor-associated macrophages(TAM)

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