Malignant proliferation and cervical lymph node metastasis limit the prognosis of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Erythropoietin-producing human hepatocyte B4 (EPHB4) regulates a range of tumor functions, including tumorigenesis, cancer cell adhesion, and metastasis. Here, researchers found that EPHB4 is highly expressed in OSCC tissues and is associated with tumor stage and lymph node metastasis, leading to poor prognosis. Cell experiments and a mouse tongue xenograft model further confirmed that high EPHB4 expression promotes OSCC tumor proliferation and metastasis. Co-immunoprecipitation (co-IP) and mass spectrometry analysis showed that EPHB4 can bind to HMGB1 and maintain HMGB1 stability. Downregulation of HMGB1 inhibited OSCC cell proliferation and metastasis and suppressed NF-κB phosphorylation activation, but did not affect EPHB4 expression. These studies reveal the mechanism by which EPHB4 promotes OSCC proliferation and metastasis by activating the HMGB1-mediated NF-κB signaling pathway, which could serve as a novel biomarker or therapeutic target for controlling OSCC metastasis and improving survival.
Here, researchers constructed EPHB4-overexpressing SCC9 and UM1 cells and verified EPHB4 expression through protein and mRNA analysis (Figures 1A and 1B). EPHB4 overexpression significantly enhanced the proliferation and tumorigenicity of SCC9 and UM1 cells (Figures 1C and 1D). Simultaneously, the results showed enhanced migration and invasion abilities of EPHB4-overexpressing cells. The number of cells crossing the chamber semipermeable membrane also significantly increased (Figures 1E and 1F), and the EPHB4-overexpressing cell lines exhibited stronger scratch repair capabilities.
Figure 1. Upregulation of EPHB4 enhances the proliferation, migration and invasion abilities of OSCC cells. (Yi C, et al., 2021)