Head and neck cancer (HNC) is a malignant tumor that includes cancers of the oral cavity, oropharynx, hypopharynx, and larynx. As the sixth most common cancer in the world, HNC has the characteristics of high incidence and poor prognosis. Therefore, searching for potential biomarkers of HNC and studying its mechanism in the occurrence and development of HNC is helpful for the early diagnosis and prognostic treatment of HNC.

Target Genes Delivered in vivo in Head & Neck Cancer

By analyzing the difference between head and neck cancer tissue and normal tissue, the researchers obtained 371 differentially expressed genes between HNC tumor tissue and normal tissue, of which 240 up-regulated differentially expressed genes and 131 down-regulated differentially expressed genes. Further research found that the cellular functions and signaling pathways involved in these differentially expressed genes were associated with tumorigenesis and the proliferation and differentiation of cancer cells. Among the 25 core genes, it has been confirmed that caspase 8 (CASP8), C-X-Cmotif chemokine ligand 12 (CXCL12), matrix metallopeptidase 9 (MMP9) and other core genes are closely related to the occurrence and development of HNC.

Figure 1. Environmental factors support metastasis of head and neck cancer. (Miranda-Galvis M, et al.; 2021)

CASP8

Studies have found that genetic variants associated with CASP8 polymorphisms may be important determinants of oropharyngeal cancer risk and tumor cell differentiation.

CXCL12

CXCL12 is a potential prognostic marker, and the expression of CXCL12 is significantly correlated with tumor differentiation, tumor stage and overall survival in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma, which may be helpful for pathological analysis of patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma.

MMP9

The study of MMP9 found that its knockdown can significantly inhibit the migration and proliferation of oral squamous cell carcinoma cells, and MMP9 plays an important role in the growth, migration, angiogenesis and lymph node metastasis of oral squamous cell carcinoma.

In addition, existing studies have also found that the genes associated with the prognosis of HNC are IL6, CD28, HDAC1, and ESR1, respectively.

IL6

IL6 is a common cytokine with functions involved in inflammatory responses and regulating immune responses. Previous studies have shown that IL6 can promote the occurrence, development and metastasis of various cancers, such as gastric cancer, liver cancer, lung cancer, and thyroid cancer. In a study of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, a single nucleotide polymorphism in the IL6 gene was found to be associated with susceptibility to head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. IL6 can also accelerate cancer cell growth, migration, and invasion by inducing an increase in osteopontin in head and neck tumors. In addition, the level of IL6 in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma patients is related to tumor prognosis, and the IL6/STAT3 signaling pathway is considered to be an important therapeutic target for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

CD28

CD28 is a co-stimulatory molecule present on the surface of T cells and plays an important role in the activation of T cells. CD28 is an important diagnostic and prognostic marker for some inflammatory diseases. In addition, CD28 is also closely related to head & neck cancer.

HDAC1

HDAC1 is a gene on chromosome 1 that plays an important role in cell growth and apoptosis. Since HDAC1 is closely involved in regulating the life activities of cells, abnormal expression of HDAC1 may be related to cancer. Studies have shown that thyroid cancer SW579 cells undergo apoptosis after knockout of HDAC1 and histone deacetylase 2 (HDAC2). HDAC1 has a role in promoting cancer cell proliferation in various cancers. Exploring its mechanism in the occurrence and development of HNC will help to find the therapeutic target of HNC.

ESR1

ESR1 is associated with the occurrence of many malignant tumors. Studies have found that ESR1 not only affects the prognosis of patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, but also significantly inhibits the proliferation, migration and invasion of cholangiocarcinoma cells by inhibiting the JAK/STAT3 signaling pathway. The gene polymorphisms of ESR1 are related to the occurrence and development of various cancers. The study of its mechanism of action in HNC may find new targets for the diagnosis and prognosis of HNC.

In addition to the above genes, there are interesting head & neck cancer-related genes that need to be explored and studied. Therefore, there is a need for an in vivo transfection system that can precisely target head & neck cancer tissue and be taken up by tumor cells to function in vivo. The system can help researchers overcome various challenges encountered during in vivo transfection:

• Relevant molecular function studies can only be carried out in vitro, lacking important in vivo data
• Using in vitro transfection system for in vivo transfection, the transfection efficiency is very low;
• The in vivo transfection system used is not specific to head & neck cancer tissues and cells, and is toxic to the body;
• The in vivo transfection system used cannot penetrate the head & neck cancer tissue into the tumor tissue;
• The nucleic acid load of the in vivo transfection system is low, and it is difficult to achieve the expected effect;
• Etc…

Our Advantage:

• We can provide an in vivo transfection system for head & neck cancer tissues and cells to achieve efficient transfection
• Our system can target multiple targets at the same time, improving targeting accuracy
• The in vivo transfection system has low toxicity to the body and is safe to use
• In vivo transfection system vectors can protect nucleic acids from degradation during in vivo delivery
• Persistent knockout effect in experimental animals after a single injection
• The system load is high, and the transfection needs of different doses can be completed
• Professional design and service team to provide you with reliable service and technical support
• Timely feedback of technical reports

CD BioSciences specializes in developing transfection systems and customizing transfection reagents for gene transfection using our core technologies. With our high-quality products and services, your transfection results can be greatly improved. If you can't find a perfect in vivo transfection system, you can contact us. We can provide one-to-one personal customization service.

References

1. Tortorelli GA, et al.; CASP8 (rs3834129) and CASP3 (rs4647601) polymorphisms in oropharynx cancer risk, tumor cell differentiation, and prognosis in a cohort of the Brazilian population. Molecular Biology Reports. 2019, 46(6): 6557-6563.
2. Zhang B, et al.; CXCL12 is associated with FoxP3(+) tumor - infiltrating lymphocytes and affects the survival of patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma. Oncology Letters. 2019, 18(2):1099 - 1106.
3. Yin P, et al.; MMP - 9 knockdown inhibits oral squamous cell carcinoma lymph node metastasis in the nude mouse Tongue - Xenografted model through the RhoC/Src pathway. Analytical Cellular Pathology. 2021, 2021: 6683391.
4. Choudhary MM, et al.; Interleukin - 6 role in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma progression. World Journal of Otorhinolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery. 2016, 2(2): 90 - 97.
5. Stojanovic N, et al.; HDAC1 and HDAC2 integrate the expression of p53 mutants in pancreatic cancer. Oncogene. 2017, 36(13): 1804-1815.
6. Li F, et al.; ESR1 as a recurrence - related gene in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma: a weighted gene coexpression network analysis. Cancer Cell International. 2021, 21(1): 225.
7. Miranda-Galvis M, et al.; Impacts of Environmental Factors on Head and Neck Cancer Pathogenesis and Progression. Cells. 2021, 10(2):389.

* For research use only. Not for use in clinical diagnosis or treatment of humans or animals.