Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41201200›Full record

ArticleCancer medicine2025

The Biological and Prognostic Implications of the Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor α3, α5, and α7 Subunits in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Chi-Maw Lin, Long-Wei Lin, Tseng-Cheng Chen, Yi-Ling Ye, Bor-Luen Chiang

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Article in Cancer medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

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1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Chi-Maw LinDepartment of Otolaryngology, National Taiwan University Hospital, Yun-Lin Branch, Yun-Lin, Taiwan.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6562-1711
Long-Wei LinDepartment of Pathology, National Taiwan University Hospital, Yun-Lin Branch, Yun-Lin, Taiwan.
Tseng-Cheng ChenDepartment of Otolaryngology, National Taiwan University Hospital and National Taiwan University, College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.
Yi-Ling YeDepartment of Biotechnology, National Formosa University, Yun-Lin, Taiwan.
Bor-Luen ChiangGraduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.

Funding

National Science and Technology Council NSTC 112-2314-B-002-100National Taiwan University Hospital Yunlin Branch NTUHYL 113-F003
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe divergent loop structures of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) α3, α5, and α7 subunits (encoded by CHRNA3, CHRNA5, and CHRNA7) are involved in kinase phosphorylation and signal transduction, potentially affecting oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), the most common head and neck cancer (HNC). However, their specific roles in OSCC remain unclear.

methodsWe integrated analyses of SCC-4 tongue cancer cells with CHRNA overexpression, immunohistochemistry of OSCC pathological specimens, and data from the cancer genome atlas (TCGA), DepMap, and Puram 2017 to assess CHRNA3, CHRNA5, and CHRNA7 in OSCC/HNC.

resultsIn OSCC, CHRNA3, CHRNA5, and CHRNA7 expression interacted with epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers and correlated with invasive patterns. CHRNA3 reduced epithelial and enhanced mesenchymal traits, supporting EMT. CHRNA5 further promoted mesenchymal features, was linked to disseminated tumor patterns, and predicted poor prognosis. CHRNA7 enhanced both epithelial and mesenchymal markers, maintaining a hybrid EMT state. In HNC, bioinformatic analyses revealed that CHRNA3 preserved ion channel activity, CHRNA5 promoted DNA replication, reduced adhesion, suppressed antigen presentation, and induced hypomethylation and miRNA overexpression, while CHRNA7 promoted differentiation with variable effects on adhesion and antigen presentation. In DepMap HNC cell lines, high CHRNA3/CHRNA5 and low CHRNA7 expression were associated with resistance to most inhibitors. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitors were effective in CHRNA3/CHRNA7-high HNC, whereas cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitors were effective in CHRNA5-high HNC.

conclusionDifferential expression of CHRNA3, CHRNA5, and CHRNA7 indicates different EMT states in OSCC/HNC, influencing proliferation, differentiation, cell adhesion, immune reactions, and treatment efficacy, and warrants further experimental validation.

Indexed as

alpha7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine ReceptorCarcinoma, Squamous CellMouth NeoplasmsReceptors, NicotinicSquamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and NeckBiomarkers, TumorCell Line, TumorEpithelial-Mesenchymal TransitionFemaleGene Expression Regulation, NeoplasticHumansMaleNerve Tissue ProteinsPrognosisalpha7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine ReceptorBiomarkers, TumorCHRNA5 protein, humanChrna7 protein, humanNerve Tissue Proteinsnicotinic receptor alpha5 subunit, humanReceptors, Nicotinicantigen presentationcell adhesioncholinergic receptor nicotinic alphaepithelial–mesenchymal transitionimmune reactionsnicotinic acetylcholine receptor

Identifiers

PMID41201200
PMCPMC12593526

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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.