Oleic acid inhibits the proliferation, invasion, and migration of tongue squamous cell carcinoma cells under high glucose conditions through S100A9-HK2/PKM2-SOD2 signaling pathway.

The incidence of tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC) has been increasing annually. Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is one of the risk factors for TSCC, with hyperglycemia being a hallmark of T2DM that promotes the development of oral cancer and results in poorer prognoses for TSCC patients who also have T2DM. Oleic acid (OA), a component of Brucea javanica oil emulsion, exhibits both anti-cancer and anti-diabetic properties. However, the precise regulatory mechanisms of OA on tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC) under high glucose conditions have yet to be fully elucidated. Our findings demonstrated that high glucose significantly enhanced the migratory, invasive, and proliferative capabilities of TSCC cells. Notably, OA treatment effectively reversed these high glucose-induced enhancements in TSCC cellular activities. Furthermore, our research revealed that OA exerted its anti-tumor effects by stabilizing its binding with S100A9, which modulated the glycolytic pathway. Ultimately, we confirmed that the anti-tumor mechanism of OA in TSCC patients with T2DM was associated with the inactivation of the S100A9-HK2/PKM2-SOD2 pathway. In summary, OA inhibited the proliferation, migration, and invasion of TSCC cells under high glucose conditions through the regulation of the S100A9-HK2/PKM2-SOD2 pathway.