Expression of salivary LINC01206, LINC01209, LINC01994, and ABCC5-AS1 may serve as diagnostic tools in laryngeal cancer

Abstract

Purpose of the study: lncRNAs appear to act as an important epigenetic regulator of the immune response to bacterial infection in mammals. However, a lncRNA that only exhibits pathogenic or beneficial potential during infection has not yet been described. Moreover, it is still not fully known whether there are specific lncRNAs whose expression changes in response to a particular pathogen or whether lncRNAs are mainly involved in basic cellular immune responses to different stress stimuli. This study aims to assess association between salivary lncRNAs and salivary bacterial pathogens in laryngeal cancer patients. Methods: LINC01206, LINC01209, LINC01994, and ABCC5-AS1 were analyzed among 13 candidate lncRNAs in the saliva samples of 35 patients with laryngeal carcinoma and 25 healthy control. Both their expressions and the quantitative amount of oral bacteria members (Rothia mucilaginosa, Streptococcus spp., Prevotella oris, Veillonella dispar, Neisseria subflava, and Peptostreptococcus stomatis) were analyzed using qPCR. To determine whether these lncRNAs and bacterial pathogens are useful as diagnostic biomarkers, their association with clinicopathological and demographic characteristics was analyzed. Results: When the study group compared with the control group, expression of LINC01206, LINC01209, LINC01994, and ABCC5-AS1 were 2.84-fold, 2.33-fold, 4.46-fold, and 2.27-fold lower, respectively (p < 0.05). In terms of the amount of bacteria DNA in saliva, no significant difference was found between the laryngeal cancer and the control groups (p > 0.05). Conclusion: These results may provide novel insights into the molecular mechanism underlying laryngeal cancer and lncRNA/microbiome applications may constitute a new and alternative method to prevent development of laryngeal cancer in the future.