4NQO-indued OSCC mice. Genomic and transcriptomic landscape of a mouse model for immunotherapy in oral squamous cell carcinoma

Anti-PD-1 immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) has moderate efficacy in some patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Establishing a mouse tumor model that can be used to explore mechanisms of antitumor immunity and to develop novel therapeutic options is imperative. An oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) mouse model was induced by feeding C57BL/6J mice with 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide (4NQO) 100 g/ml for 10 weeks and tumors were developed and collected for another 6-19 weeks. Genetic aberrations, transcriptomic profile, and immune cell compositions among different pathological stages were compared by whole-exome and transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq).