ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Immunol.
Sec. Comparative Immunology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1614498
Integrated analysis of single cell and spatial transcriptomics revealed a metastasis mechanism mediated by fatty acid metabolism in lymph nodes of head and neck cancer
Provisionally accepted
- 1Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Region, China
- 2Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China
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Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) was a common malignant tumor, and its recurrence and metastasis during treatment were the main factors affecting the patient's prognosis. This study collected single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq), spatial transcriptome (ST) data, and fatty acid metabolism-related genes from public databases for pseudochronological, differentiation, cell interaction, and pathway analysis. In vivo and in vitro experiments were conducted to study the expression ofLGALS1 and its role in HNSCC cells. Three specific subclusters in the tumor metastasis process were identified, including primary tumors, transitional tumors, and metastatic tumors. During tumor evolution, fatty acid metabolism was upregulated, and active fatty acid metabolism involving LGALS1 was related to HNSCC cell metastasis. Knocking downLGALS1 significantly inhibited the proliferation, migration, and lymph node metastasis ability of HNSCC cells and changed the expressions of Ecadherin, Snail, and PPARγ at the protein level. This study described metabolic changes during HNSCC dissemination and revealed the critical role of metastatic tumors in the mechanism of HNSCC metastasis by regulating fatty acid metabolism.
Keywords: fatty acid metabolism, LGALS1, metastasis, single-cell RNA sequencing, Spatial transcriptome
Received: 19 Apr 2025; Accepted: 23 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Weng, Mao, Li, Zhao and Nong. 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: Xiaolin Nong, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, 530021, Guangxi Zhuang Region, China
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