Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36291696›Full record

ArticleBiomolecules2022

Identification of Biological Functions and Prognostic Value of NNMT in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Weixian Zhang, Yue Jing, Shuai Wang, Yan Wu, Yawei Sun, Jia Zhuang, Xiaofeng Huang, Sheng Chen, Xiaoxin Zhang, Yuxian Song and 2 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Biomolecules, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
1.0field-weighted citation impact, top 26% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 11 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Metabolic biomarker in oral squamous cell carcinoma - a comprehensive review.GMS Interdisciplinary plastic and reconstructive surgery DGPW · 2025
    Review
  3. Article
  4. Review
  5. Article
  6. Biological biomarkers of oral cancer.Periodontology 2000 · 2024
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Weixian ZhangCentral Laboratory of Stomatology, Nanjing Stomatological Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing 210008, China.
Yue JingCentral Laboratory of Stomatology, Nanjing Stomatological Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing 210008, China.
Shuai WangCentral Laboratory of Stomatology, Nanjing Stomatological Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing 210008, China.ORCID 0000-0003-3946-4497
Yan WuCentral Laboratory of Stomatology, Nanjing Stomatological Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing 210008, China.
Yawei SunCentral Laboratory of Stomatology, Nanjing Stomatological Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing 210008, China.ORCID 0000-0001-5901-0383
Jia ZhuangCentral Laboratory of Stomatology, Nanjing Stomatological Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing 210008, China.
Xiaofeng HuangDepartment of Oral Pathology, Nanjing Stomatological Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing 210008, China.
Sheng ChenDepartment of Oral Pathology, Nanjing Stomatological Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing 210008, China.
Xiaoxin ZhangCentral Laboratory of Stomatology, Nanjing Stomatological Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing 210008, China.
Yuxian SongCentral Laboratory of Stomatology, Nanjing Stomatological Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing 210008, China.
Qingang HuDepartment of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Nanjing Stomatological Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing 210008, China.
Yanhong NiCentral Laboratory of Stomatology, Nanjing Stomatological Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing 210008, China.
Nanjing University · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundNicotinamide N-methyltransferase (NNMT) is a metabolic enzyme that catalyzes the methylation of nicotinamide (NAM) to generate 1-methyl nicotinamide (MNAM). Although previous studies have shown that NNMT is frequently dysregulated to promote the onset and progression of many malignancies, its expression profile, prognostic value and function in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) are still unknown.

methodsWe used untargeted metabolomics based on mass spectrometry to analyze potential metabolite differences between tumors and matched adjacent normal tissues in 40 OSCC patients. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was used to analyze the NNMT expression profile in OSCC, and the diagnostic and prognostic values of NNMT were evaluated. Next, qPCR and Western blot were used to compare the expression of NNMT in five OSCC cell lines. Stable transfected cell lines were constructed, and functional experiments were carried out to elucidate the effects of NNMT on the proliferation and migration of OSCC cells. Finally, gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was performed using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data to investigate the potential functional mechanisms of NNMT in OSCC.

resultsWe found that the nicotinamide metabolic pathway was abnormally activated in OSCC tumor tissues compared with normal tissues. NNMT was expressed ubiquitously in tumor cells (TCs) and fibroblast-like cells (FLCs) but was absent in tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs). OSCC patients with highly expressed NNMT in TCs had higher risk of lymph node metastasis and showed a worse pattern of invasion (POI). Moreover, patients with highly expressed NNMT were also susceptible to postoperative recurrence. Highly expressed NNMT can independently predict shorter disease-free survival and recurrence-free survival. Functionally, we demonstrated that the ectopic expression of NNMT promoted OSCC tumor cell proliferation and migration in vitro. Conversely, silencing exerted significantly opposite effects in vitro. In addition, GSEA showed that highly expressed NNMT was mainly enriched in the epithelial-mesenchymal transformation (EMT) pathway, which displayed a significant positive correlation with the six classic EMT markers.

conclusionsOur study uncovered that NNMT may be a critical regulator of EMT in OSCC and may serve as a prognostic biomarker for OSCC patients. These findings might provide novel insights for future research in NNMT-targeted OSCC metastasis and recurrence therapy.

Indexed as

Carcinoma, Squamous CellHead and Neck NeoplasmsMouth NeoplasmsHumansNiacinamideNicotinamide N-MethyltransferasePrognosisSquamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and NeckNiacinamideNicotinamide N-MethyltransferaseNNMT protein, humanepithelial–mesenchymal transformationmetabolomicsnicotinamideNicotinamide N-methyltransferaseoral squamous cell carcinomaprognosis

Identifiers

PMID36291696
PMCPMC9599733
OpenAlexW4306362126

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.