Exploring the Clinical Relevance of p31comet in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma through UALCAN database analysis

Ana C. Henriques Henriques; João P. N.  Silva; Bárbara Pinto; Patricia M. A.  Silva; Hassan Bousbaa

doi:10.48797/sl.2024.266

Authors

Ana C. Henriques Henriques UNIPRO – Oral Pathology and Rehabilitation Research Unit, University Institute of Health Sciences (IUCS-CESPU), 4585-116 Gandra, Portugal; Cell Biology of Viral Infection Lab, Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, 2780-156 Oeiras, Portugal https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4951-792X
João P. N. Silva UNIPRO – Oral Pathology and Rehabilitation Research Unit, University Institute of Health Sciences (IUCS-CESPU), 4585-116 Gandra, Portugal https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4455-4286
Bárbara Pinto UNIPRO – Oral Pathology and Rehabilitation Research Unit, University Institute of Health Sciences (IUCS-CESPU), 4585-116 Gandra, Portugal https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8804-6104
Patricia M. A. Silva UNIPRO – Oral Pathology and Rehabilitation Research Unit, University Institute of Health Sciences (IUCS-CESPU), 4585-116 Gandra, Portugal; Associate Laboratory i4HB - Institute for Health and Bioeconomy, University Institute of Health Sciences - CESPU, 4585-116 Gandra, Portugal. UCIBIO - Applied Molecular Biosciences Unit, Translational Toxicology Research Laboratory, University Institute of Health Sciences (1H-TOXRUN, IUCS-CESPU), 4585-116 Gandra, Portugal. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0694-7321
Hassan Bousbaa UNIPRO – Oral Pathology and Rehabilitation Research Unit, University Institute of Health Sciences (IUCS-CESPU), 4585-116 Gandra, Portugal https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4006-5779

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.48797/sl.2024.266

Keywords:

Bioinformatics analysis, p31comet, tumorigenesis, prognostic, biomarker, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Abstract

The p31^comet protein plays a pivotal role in regulating spindle assembly checkpoint silencing and is overexpressed in several cancers, including oral cancer. Despite this, its exact roles in tumorigenesis and its prognostic significance remain unclear. In this study, using the UALCAN cancer database, we analyzed p31^comet expression and its correlation with clinical indicators in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (HNSCC). Our findings revealed a significant upregulation of p31^comet in HNSCC patients. Interestingly, we observed a positive correlation between p31^comet expression and known interactors such as MAD2L1 and TRIP13, as well as regulators of p31^comet expression. Furthermore, we found that p31^comet expression was notably increased in tumor samples exhibiting alterations in the mTOR pathway and the SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complexes. Intriguingly, HNSCC patients with high p31^comet expression showed a tendency towards better prognosis compared to those with low/medium expression levels. This tendency did not reach statistical significance, likely due to variations in patient cohort sizes within the database. In summary, our findings suggest that increased p31^comet expression could be a potential marker for tumor occurrence and metastasis in HNSCC patients, opening avenues for further research to understand its prognostic significance.

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