Middle East Journal of Cancer

Altered PLAU Expression in Porphyromonas gingivalis-Treated Human Immortalised Oral Epithelial Cells and Its Putative Role in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Document Type : Original Article(s)

Authors

Adithyan Kannan 1, 2
Vijayashree Priyadharsini Jayaseelan 2

1 Department of Microbiology, Saveetha Dental College and Hospital, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences [SIMATS], Saveetha University, Chennai, India

2 Clinical Genetics Lab, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Research, Saveetha Dental College and Hospital, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences [SIMATS], Saveetha Universi ty, Chennai, India

https://doi.org/10.30476/mejc.2026.106070.2255
Abstract
Background: Porphyromonas gingivalis, a key pathogen in periodontitis, has been implicated in oral carcinogenesis. The present study investigated the dysregulated genes in human oral epithelial cells (HOEC) treated with P. gingivalis (Pg) and explored their potential involvement in the development of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).
Method: A computational design, using GEOmnibus data was employed to extract key information on differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in HOEC treated with Pg. A curated list of the top 20 DEGs was then examined for their gene expression profiles and survival rates using the UALCAN database. To explore gene enrichment and protein interaction networks, the Metascape and STRING databases were used. Additionally, the effect of microRNA on the expression profiles of candidate genes shared by both phenotypes was examined using the miRDB portal.
Results: Among the 20 genes queried, the PLAU gene was found to be upregulated in both the Pg-treated cells and the HNSCC dataset. The high expression of this gene correlated with poor prognosis in HNSCC patients. Furthermore, the microRNA hsa-miR-23b-3p, identified as targeting PLAU, was significantly downregulated, resulting in poor prognosis in HNSCC patients.
Conclusion: Our study reveals that Pg infection induced significant alterations in the gene expression in HOEC. The PLAU gene was identified as an important gene that demonstrated a putative association with periodontal disease and HNSCC. The influence of epigenetic markers, such as non-coding RNAs, and the methylation profile of the gene requires further investigation.

Highlights

Vijayashree Priyadharsini Jayaseelan (google scholar)

Keywords

Bacterial infections
Disease
Genes
Periodontitis
Prognosis
Subjects

Please cite this article as:

Kannan A, Jayaseelan VP. Altered PLAU expression in Porphyromonas gingivalis-treated human immortalised oral epithelial cells and its putative role in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Middle East J Cancer. 2026;17(4):297-311. doi:10.30476/mejc.2026.106070.2255.

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