ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Genet.
Sec. Cancer Genetics and Oncogenomics
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fgene.2025.1615570
This article is part of the Research TopicAdvancements in head and neck tumor treatment strategy driven by the perspective of precision oncologyView all 4 articles
Integrated Cytomembrane Proteomics Identifies EpCAM/MGST1 as Therapeutic Targets in Metastatic Laryngeal Carcinoma
Provisionally accepted
Suling Zhuang1Xiaobo Wu2,3
Xiaohuang Lin1Zhihan Li1Di Gan1Shixin Wang1
Xue Lin4Gongbiao Lin2,3*
Miao Gao2,3*- 1Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China
- 2First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, Fujian Province, China
- 3Binhai Campus of the First Affiliated Hospital, Fujian Medical Universit, Fujian, China
- 4Gutian County Hospital of Fujian Province, Fujian, China
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Lymph node metastasis plays a crucial role in cancer recurrence and survival, however, the underlying molecular mechanism and biomarkers in laryngeal carcinoma remain poorly characterized. While cytomembrane proteins represent attractive therapeutic targets due to their accessibility, the identification of tractable candidates for precision therapy remains challenging.This study aimed to identify potential therapeutic targets for laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) with lymph node metastasis through cytomembrane proteome profiling. We conducted a comprehensive multi-omics analysis in 158 LSCC cases from TCGA (111 patients) and CPTAC (47 patients) database. The correlations between lymph node metastasis and molecular features at proteome levels were investigated. Potential immunotherapy targets were identified and prioritized using an in silico screening algorithm for cytomembrane proteome.The in silico screening algorithm for cytomembrane proteome led to the recognition of EpCAM and MGST1 as potential targets. We demonstrated that EpCAM and MGST1 were abundantly expressed in LSCC, particularly in cases with lymph node metastasis. Functional siRNA knockdown confirmed their critical roles in driving in vitro proliferation, invasion, and migration. Furthermore, their knockdown hindered the Wnt/β-catenin and PI3K signaling pathways.EpCAM/MGST1 as actionable immunotherapeutic targets, with silencing attenuating oncogenic proliferation, invasion, and Wnt/β-catenin-PI3K crosstalk, offering novel therapeutic avenues.
Keywords: lymph node metastasis, Lscc, cytomembrane protein, EpCAM, MGST1 lymph node metastasis, MGST1
Received: 21 Apr 2025; Accepted: 16 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhuang, Wu, Lin, Li, Gan, Wang, Lin, Lin and Gao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Gongbiao Lin, First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, Fujian Province, China
Miao Gao, First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, Fujian Province, China
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