Identification of CKS2 as a novel prognostic biomarker and potential therapeutic target for oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: The cyclin-dependent kinase subunit 2 (CKS2) is recognized to have a substantial impact on the pathogenesis and advancement of several malignant neoplasms. Nevertheless, its biological function and prognostic significance in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) have yet to be thoroughly investigated. Our primary objective was to clarify the contribution of CKS2 in the progression and prognosis of OSCC. Methods: We first conducted a thorough examination of online databases to investigate the expression of CKS2, and subsequently corroborated our discoveries by analyzing clinical specimens that we collected. According to the clinicopathological data, we then explored the prognostic significance of CKS2. Furthermore, we predicted the role of CKS2 in OSCC progression by employing weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) in conjunction with functional enrichment analysis. We conducted functional experiments in vitro to confirm our speculations. Additionally, we explored other potential functions of CKS2 in immune infiltration, tumor mutation burden (TMB), and drug sensitivity. Finally, we established and validated a nomogram that effectively integrated CKS2-related genes and other relevant clinical factors. Results: Our findings indicated a significant upregulation of CKS2 expression in OSCC tissues compared to normal groups, which was positively associated with poor clinical outcomes. We also predicted and validated the role of CKS2 in promoting proliferation by regulating the cell cycle. Additionally, its upregulation was significantly correlated to enhanced immune cell infiltration, high TMB, and increased sensitivity of anti-tumor agents. Following verification, the nomogram was conducted to quantify an individual's survival probability. Conclusions: In general, our study indicates that CKS2 is a novel prognostic biomarker and potential therapeutic target in OSCC.

METTL14 inhibits malignant progression of oral squamous cell carcinoma by targeting the autophagy-related gene RB1CC1 in an m6A-IGF2BP2-dependent manner.

N6-methyladenosine (m6A) plays crucial roles in tumorigenesis and autophagy. However, the underlying mechanisms mediated by m6A and autophagy in the malignant progression of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) remain unclear. In the present study, we revealed that down-regulated expression of METTL14 was correlated with advanced clinicopathological characteristics and poor prognosis in OSCC. METTL14 knockdown significantly inhibited autophagy and facilitated malignant progression in vitro, and promoted tumor growth and metastasis in vivo. A cell model of rapamycin-induced autophagy was established to identify RB1CC1 as a potential target gene involved in m6A-regulated autophagy in OSCC, through RNA sequencing and methylated RNA immunoprecipitation sequencing (meRIP-seq) analysis. Mechanistically, we confirmed that METTL14 posttranscriptionally enhanced RB1CC1 expression in an m6A-IGF2BP2-dependent manner, thereby affecting autophagy and progression in OSCC, through methylated RNA immunoprecipitation qRT-PCR (meRIP-qPCR), RNA stability assays, mutagenesis assays and dual-luciferase reporter. Collectively, our findings demonstrated that METTL14 serves as an OSCC suppressor by regulating the autophagy-related gene RB1CC1 through m6A modification, which may provide a new insight for the diagnosis and therapy of OSCC.

Production of ammonia from plasma-catalytic decomposition of urea: Effects of carrier gas composition.

Effects of carrier gas composition (N2/air) on NH3 production, energy efficiency regarding NH3 production and byproducts formation from plasma-catalytic decomposition of urea were systematically investigated using an Al2O3-packed dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactor at room temperature. Results show that the presence of O2 in the carrier gas accelerates the conversion of urea but leads to less generation of NH3. The final yield of NH3 in the gas phase decreased from 70.5%, 78.7%, 66.6% and 67.2% to 54.1%, 51.7%, 49.6% and 53.4% for applied voltages of 17, 19, 21 and 23kV, respectively when air was used as the carrier gas instead of N2. From the viewpoint of energy savings, however, air carrier gas is better than N2 due to reduced energy consumption and increased energy efficiency for decomposition of a fixed amount of urea. Carrier gas composition has little influence on the major decomposition pathways of urea under the synergetic effects of plasma and Al2O3 catalyst to give NH3 and CO2 as the main products. Compared to a small amount of N2O formed with N2 as the carrier gas, however, more byproducts including N2O and NO2 in the gas phase and NH4NO3 in solid deposits were produced with air as the carrier gas, probably due to the unproductive consumption of NH3, the possible intermediate HNCO and even urea by the abundant active oxygen species and nitrogen oxides generated in air-DBD plasma.