Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41452436›Full record

ArticleMedical oncology (Northwood, London, England)2025

KLHL4 upregulates EGFR signaling to promote the malignant progression of oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Yingxin Zhang, Yuan Ren, Yimei Wang, Ming Liu, Fangbu Cheng, Haiyun Li, Silu Sun, Xikun Zhou, Jiantang Yang, Jing Li

Abstract read
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Article in Medical oncology (Northwood, London, England), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Yingxin Zhang *State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases & National Center for Stomatology, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Research Unit of Oral Carcinogenesis and Management, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, 610041, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
Yuan Ren *State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases & National Center for Stomatology, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Research Unit of Oral Carcinogenesis and Management, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, 610041, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
Yimei Wang *State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases & National Center for Stomatology, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Research Unit of Oral Carcinogenesis and Management, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, 610041, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
Ming LiuState Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases & National Center for Stomatology, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Research Unit of Oral Carcinogenesis and Management, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, 610041, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
Fangbu ChengState Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University and Collaborative Innovation Center for Biotherapy, 610041, Chengdu, P. R. China.
Haiyun LiState Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases & National Center for Stomatology, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Research Unit of Oral Carcinogenesis and Management, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, 610041, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
Silu SunState Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases & National Center for Stomatology, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Research Unit of Oral Carcinogenesis and Management, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, 610041, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
Xikun ZhouState Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University and Collaborative Innovation Center for Biotherapy, 610041, Chengdu, P. R. China.
Jiantang YangKey School and Hospital of Stomatology, Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, Guizhou, China. xiaoyang198509@163.com.
Jing LiState Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases & National Center for Stomatology, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Research Unit of Oral Carcinogenesis and Management, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, 610041, Chengdu, Sichuan, China. lijing1984@scu.edu.cn.

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China 82273320Natural Science Foundation of Sichuan Province 2023NSFSC1447
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the most prevalent form of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), characterized by high incidence rates, frequent recurrence and metastasis, and low survival rates. KLHL4, a member of the Kelch-like family proteins, plays a significant role in cancer. However, the role of KLHL4 in OSCC remains largely unexplored. In this study, we first identified the aberrant overexpression of KLHL4 in OSCC tissues through Western blotting and immunohistochemistry. Subsequent experiments, including qPCR, colony formation assays, scratch assays, and transwell invasion and migration assays, demonstrated that knockdown of KLHL4 inhibits OSCC growth, migration and invasion in vitro. Furthermore, through the establishment of subcutaneous xenograft models and lung metastasis models in nude mice, we revealed that KLHL4 knockdown suppresses tumor growth and metastasis in vivo. We also found that KLHL4 knockout inhibited 4NQO-induced OSCC progression. Mechanistically, co-immunoprecipitation confirmed the physical interaction between KLHL4 and EGFR, while rescue experiments using EGF and Afatinib demonstrated the functional dependency of KLHL4 on EGFR pathway activation. Clinical analysis of a 112-case OSCC tissue microarray revealed that high KLHL4 expression correlated significantly with lymph node metastasis and predicted poor patient overall survival, which was independently validated in a public HNSCC cohort. Overall, our research highlights the critical role of KLHL4 in the malignant progression of OSCC through upregulating the EGFR signaling pathway, indicating its potential as a therapeutic target for OSCC treatment.

Indexed as

Carcinoma, Squamous CellMouth NeoplasmsSquamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and NeckAnimalsCell Line, TumorCell MovementCell ProliferationDisease ProgressionErbB ReceptorsFemaleGene Expression Regulation, NeoplasticHumansMaleMiceMice, Inbred BALB CMice, NudeEGFR protein, humanErbB ReceptorsEGFRGrowth proliferationKLHL4OSCCTumor metastasis

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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.