Int J Stomatol

Int J Stomatol ›› 2026, Vol. 53 ›› Issue (2): 189-196.doi: 10.7518/gjkq.2026211

• Original Articles • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Preliminary study on the expression pattern and function of β-1,4-N-acetyl-galactosaminyltransferase 4 in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Ming Liu(),Yanting Zhou,Jing Li()   

  1. State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases & National Center for Stomatology & National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases & Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research Unit of Oral Carcinogenesis and Management, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China
  • Received:2024-09-29 Revised:2025-09-27 Online:2026-03-01 Published:2026-02-13
  • Contact: Jing Li E-mail:liu01and0304@163.com;lijing1984@scu.edu.cn
  • Supported by:
    National Natural Science Foundation of China(82273320)

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Abstract:

Objective　To screen differentially expressed genes in metastatic and non-metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) tissues using bioinformatics technology analysis, and to predict potential key genes. Methods　Related data from 19 cases of metastatic HNSCC and 48 cases of non-metastatic HNSCC with clear information were obtained from the Cancer Genome Atlas dataset. The upregulated and downregulated differentially expressed genes in metastatic and non-metastatic HNSCC tissues were screened using bioinformatics technology analysis. Subsequent analysis included cluster analysis, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis, and gene onto-logy analysis. Results indicate that β-1,4-N-acetyl-galactosaminyltransferase (B4GALNT4) was selected as a key gene due to its smallest “adjusted P value.” This gene was verified at the cellular level using quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and Western Blot. Results　Compared with non-metastatic HNSCC tissues, 76 genes were significantly downregulated and 99 genes were significantly upregulated in the metastatic HNSCC tissues. Among which, the B4GALNT4 gene expression was found to be the most significantly upregulated. Cellular-level experiments revealed that, compared to UM-2 cells with weak metastasis capability, the mRNA and protein expression levels of B4GALNT4 in UM-1 cells with strong metastasis capability were significantly higher (P<0.05). In addition, the level of protein O-glycosylation in UM-1 cells was also significantly increased in UM-1 cells compared to UM-2 cells (P<0.05). Conclusion　B4GALNT4 is upregulated in metastatic HNSCC tissues and cells, and its expression is positively correlated with the level of protein glycosylation. Therefore, B4GALNT4 is a potentially new target for the prevention and treatment of tumor metastasis.

Key words: head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, metastasis, β-1,4-N-acetyl-galactosaminyltransferase, glycosylation

CLC Number: 

  • R739.8

TrendMD: 

Tab 1

Baseline information of the samples"

特征转移型（n=19）非转移型（n=48）
性别男1831
女117
年龄/岁61.264.3
吸烟是1136
否812
B4GALNT4表达水平高1612
低336
临床分期Ⅰ05
Ⅱ04
Ⅲ19
Ⅳ1830

Tab 2

Sequences of the primers for qRT-PCR"

名称引物序列
B4GALNT4正向：5’-CTACGGGCGAGATGGTGAG-3’
反向：5’-CTCAGCCCTCTGTGTGGATG-3’
GAPDH正向：5’-GCAAGCACAGAGTTGGATGA-3’
反向：5’-CTGGCGTAGGGAGTTCAGAG-3’

Fig 1

Differentially expressed genes in metastatic and non-metastatic HNSCC"

Fig 2

GO enrichment and KEGG pathway analysis of differentially expressed genes"

Fig 3

Expression of B4GALNT4 in HNSCC metastatic cell lines"

Fig 4

Correlation between B4GALNT4 and signaling pathways"

Fig 5

The expression level of protein O-glycosylation in HNSCC cell lines"

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