LncRNAs as an intermediate in HPV16 promoting myeloid-derived suppressor cell recruitment of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Abstract

// Xiangrui Ma 1, 2, * , Surui Sheng 1, * , Jingbiao Wu 1, * , Yaping Jiang 1, 3 , Xiaolei Gao 1 , Xiao Cen 1 , Jiashun Wu 1 , Shasha Wang 1 , Yajie Tang 4 , Yaling Tang 1, 5 and Xinhua Liang 1, 6 1 State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology (Sichuan University), Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China 2 Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Binzhou Medical College, Binzhou, Shandong 256600, China 3 Department of Implant, The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, Shandong 266000, China 4 Key Laboratory of Fermentation Engineering (Ministry of Education), Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430068, China 5 Department of Oral Pathology, West China Hospital of Stomatology (Sichuan University), Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China 6 Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, West China Hospital of Stomatology (Sichuan University), Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China * These authors have contributed equally to this work Correspondence to: Yaling Tang, email: tangyaling@scu.edu.cn Xinhua Liang, email: lxh88866@scu.edu.cn Keywords: head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC), human papillomavirus (HPV), the non-coding RNA (lncRNA), myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) Received: November 08, 2016      Accepted: December 27, 2016      Published: February 01, 2017 ABSTRACT The emerging evidence showed that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are involved in cell growth and apoptosis as well as cancer progression and metastasis of malignant tumor, however, limited data are available on the role of lncRNAs in human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated Head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC). Here, we demonstrated that 23.98% of 196 HNSCC cases in Southwest China could be classified as HPV16 infection. The number of MDSCs in HPV-positive HNSCC was significantly higher than normal control, indicating that HPV infection may promote MDSCs aggregation. Then, we applied an array-based approach to monitor the lncRNA expression between HPV-positive HNSCC, HPV-negative HNSCC and normal oral mucous, and obtained 132 different lncRNAs in different HPV infected states of HNSCC. HOTAIR, PROM1, CCAT1, and MUC19 mRNA levels, determined by qRT-PCR were inversely correlated with MDSCs collection of HPV-associated HNSCC in 2 independent patient cohorts. The results may provide a rationale for the further evaluation of lncRNAs as a molecular target to elucidate the molecular mechanism of HPV promoting MDSCs collection of HNSCC.