Mucosa-like differentiation of head and neck cancer cells is inducible and drives the epigenetic loss of cell malignancy.

ABSTRACT: Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a highly malignant disease with high death rates that have remained substantially unaltered for decades. Therefore, new treatment approaches are urgently needed. Human papillomavirus-negative tumors harbor areas of terminally differentiated tissue that are characterized by cornification. Dissecting this intrinsic ability of HNSCC cells to irreversibly differentiate into non-malignant cells may have tumor-targeting potential. We modeled the cornification of HNSCC cells in a primary spheroid model and analyzed the mechanisms underlying differentiation by ATAC-seq and RNA-seq. Results were verified by immunofluorescence using human HNSCC tissue of distinct anatomical locations. HNSCC cell differentiation was accompanied by cell adhesion, prolif

SUBMITTER: Oppel F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11446932 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature