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Increased SEC14L2 expression is associated with clinicopathological features and worse prognosis in oral squamous cell carcinoma

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Abstract

Abnormal expression of SEC14L2 has been implicated in many human cancers. However, the role of SEC14L2 in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) remains unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the expression and prognostic roles of SEC14L2 in OSCC. OSCC tumors and adjacent non-tumors were collected from OSCC patients and used for SEC14L2 mRNA expression by quantitative reverse transcription PCR (RT-qPCR). Additionally, the expression of SEC14L2 was further analyzed using The Cancer Genome Atlas—Head Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (TCGA-HNSCC) dataset to identify its relationship with HNSCC clinical characteristics. The Kaplan–Meier plot was used to assess survival rates, and the Tumor Immune Estimation Resource (TIMER) database was used to examine the correlation between SEC14L2 expression and tumor immune cell infiltration. In silico tools also looked at SEC14L2 involvement in cancer pathways through its protein network. The mRNA and protein levels of SEC14L2 are notably higher in both OSCC and HNSCC tissues compared to adjacent normal tissues. Upregulation of SEC14L2 was associated with advanced tumor stages, grades, metastasis, HPV-negative, and TP53 mutations in cancer patients. In addition, the high expression of SEC14L2 was negatively correlated with the poor survival of cancer patients and the infiltration of diverse immune cells in cancer patients. According to the findings of this investigation, SEC14L2 is significantly elevated in OSCC/HNSCC patients and associated with a worse prognosis. More investigation and clinical studies are required to completely understand the therapeutic potential of SEC14L2 in HNSCC and convert these findings into better patient outcomes.

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Acknowledgements

We express our gratitude to the patients, the Department of Oral Surgery at Saveetha Dental College and Hospitals, the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Research, and the Institutional Ethical Committee for their invaluable contributions. The author(s) received no financial support for this research and publication.

Funding

This work was supported by the Saveetha Dental College and Hospitals, Chennai.

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Author notes

  1. Jeevitha Manicka Vasagam and Paramasivam Arumugam contributed equally to this work as corresponding authors.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Periodontics, Saveetha Dental College and Hospital, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences (SIMATS), Saveetha University, Chennai, India

    Jonah Justin David & Jeevitha Manicka Vasagam

  2. Molecular Biology Laboratory, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Research, Saveetha Dental College and Hospital, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences (SIMATS), Saveetha University, Chennai, 600077, India

    Balachander Kannan, Chandra Pandi & Paramasivam Arumugam

  3. Clinical Genetics Laboratory, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Research, Saveetha Dental College and Hospital, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences (SIMATS), Saveetha University, Chennai, India

    Vijayashree Priyadharsini Jayaseelan

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  1. Jonah Justin David
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Contributions

Jonah Justin David contributed to data acquisition, analysis, and interpretation, and drafted and critically revised the manuscript. Balachander Kannan, Chandra Pandi, Vijayashree Priyadharsini Jayaseelan, Jeevitha Manicka Vasagam, and Paramasivam Arumugam contributed to data acquisition and analysis, critically revised the manuscript. All authors gave final approval and agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Paramasivam Arumugam.

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The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Ethical statement

This study was approved by the Institutional Ethical Committee of the Saveetha Dental College and Hospital. All participants signed an informed consent form.

Data availability

The transcriptome data and related clinical information that support the findings of this study are available on the TCGA official website.

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David, J.J., Kannan, B., Pandi, C. et al. Increased SEC14L2 expression is associated with clinicopathological features and worse prognosis in oral squamous cell carcinoma. Odontology (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10266-024-00929-x

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