Bioinformatics Identification and Functional Analysis of Key Genes of Nucleotide Metabolism in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

PURPOSE: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a typical hypoxic and metabolically heterogeneous adult invasive oral malignant tumour. Nucleotide metabolism-related genes (NMRGs) have been identified as therapeutic targets for various cancers. This study aims to analyse the characteristics of NMRGs in OSCC and identify potential biomarkers.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

Based on the the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and GEO data, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in OSCC were screened and intersected with NMRGs to obtain DE-NMRGs. Key genes were selected through the protein interaction (PPI) network combined with MCC and MCODE algorithms, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) and survival curves were drawn. Genes with an area under the curve (AUC) > 0.7 and statistically significant differences were selected as hub genes. Further analysis of the immune infiltration characteristics, gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) enrichment, potential drug effects of hub genes, and construction of the ceRNA network were conducted.

RESULTS

Three hub genes related to nucleotide metabolism (ADA, NT5E, and TYMS) were identified, showing good diagnostic performance (AUC > 0.7). Immune analysis showed that cytotoxic lymphocytes, B lineage, and monocytic lineage had increased infiltration in OSCC (P 0.05). The ceRNA network showed that hsa-miR-30a-5p, hsa-miR-30b-5p interacted with NT5E, and hsa-miR-192-5p, hsa-miR-215-5p interacted with TYMS. Drug prediction suggested that denileukin difitox ontak, STREPTOZOCIN, and nitrogen mustard may be potential therapeutic drugs for OSCC.

CONCLUSION

ADA, NT5E and TYMS can serve as potential diagnostic markers and therapeutic targets for OSCC. The study has reference value for early diagnosis and the development of individualised treatment strategies.