Table 1_Oral and intratumoral microbiota influence tumor immunity and patient survival.docx

BackgroundThe aim of this study was to analyze the changes in the oral microbiota of patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) compared to healthy controls and the effect of intratumoral microorganisms on the host immune microenvironment.
MethodsSaliva samples were collected from 36 OSCC patients and 34 healthy controls. 16S rDNA sequencing and bioinformatics analysis were conducted on the saliva samples. Differential expression, pathway enrichment, and tumor microenvironment analyses were performed on transcriptome data from head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and OSCC patients in the GEO database.
ResultsOral microbiota exhibited comparable α diversity but distinct β diversity between OSCC patients and healthy controls. Capnocytophaga, Flavobacteriaceae, and Vibrionaceae were significantly enriched in the OSCC group. Pathway analysis revealed dysregulation of metabolic pathways, including arginine and proline metabolism and sulfur transfer systems, in the OSCC group. The presence of microorganisms activated immune responses within tumor tissues, and immune scores increased with disease progression. Changes in the abundance of tumor immune-related signaling pathways were significantly associated with patient survival.
ConclusionSpecific oral microbiota in OSCC patients may serve as biomarkers for distinguishing OSCC. The interaction between microorganisms and the host alters the tumor immune microenvironment, which provides a theoretical basis for OSCC immunotherapy.

研究背景：本研究旨在分析口腔鳞状细胞癌（oral squamous cell carcinoma, OSCC）患者与健康对照者的口腔菌群变化，以及瘤内微生物对宿主免疫微环境的影响。
研究方法：本研究从36例OSCC患者与34例健康对照者中采集唾液样本，对其开展16S rDNA测序与生物信息学分析。此外，针对癌症基因组图谱（The Cancer Genome Atlas, TCGA）数据库中的头颈鳞状细胞癌（head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, HNSCC）转录组数据，以及基因表达汇编（Gene Expression Omnibus, GEO）数据库中的OSCC患者转录组数据，分别进行差异表达分析、通路富集分析与肿瘤微环境分析。
研究结果：OSCC患者与健康对照者的口腔菌群α多样性无显著差异，但β多样性存在显著差异。二氧化碳嗜纤维菌属（Capnocytophaga）、黄杆菌科（Flavobacteriaceae）与弧菌科（Vibrionaceae）在OSCC组中显著富集。通路分析显示，OSCC组的代谢通路存在失调，包括精氨酸与脯氨酸代谢、硫转移系统。微生物的存在可激活肿瘤组织内的免疫应答，且免疫评分随疾病进展而升高。肿瘤免疫相关信号通路的丰度变化与患者生存率显著相关。
研究结论：OSCC患者的特异性口腔菌群可作为区分OSCC的生物标志物。微生物与宿主的相互作用可改变肿瘤免疫微环境，这为OSCC的免疫治疗提供了理论依据。