UCHL1 promotes proliferation and metastasis in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and could be a potential therapeutic target

Abstract Objective To research the physiological roles of ubiquitin carboxyl-terminal esterase L1 (UCHL1) in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Study Design Ten HNSCC samples and matched normal oral mucosal tissues were collected. UCHL1 expression of these tissues was detected by the immunohistochemical staining and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The human HNSCC cell line HN6 UCHL1 knockout (UCHL1 KO) cell line was constructed by CRISPR/CAS9 gene editing and verified by western blotting. Wound healing assay, cell proliferation assay, cell invasion assay, and flow cytometric analysis of the cell cycle and apoptosis were applied to research the role of UCHL1 in HNSCC. Besides, a RNAseq gene expression data set and HNSCC patient survival data from The Cancer Genome Atlas were analyzed. Results UCHL1 was highly expressed in HNSCC tissues compared to normal oral mucosal tissues (P=0.032). A decreased proliferation (P Conclusions UCHL1 plays an important role in HNSCC and we consider that targeting UCHL1 may be a feasible therapeutic strategy for HNSCC.