A2b and A3 adenosine receptors may act as promotive and prognostic factors in oral squamous cell carcinoma

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the expression and potential effects of adenosine receptors in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC).Data on mRNA expression of adenosine receptors in OSCC samples were collected from The Cancer Genome Atlas database. Adenosine-regulated signaling pathways and biological processes were investigated via immune cell infiltration analysis, bioinformatics analysis, and immunohistochemistry.Overexpression of A2bR and A3R was significantly correlated with the prognosis of OSCC (P < 0.05). A3R expression in OSCC patients was significantly and positively correlated with the infiltration of six types of immune cells: B cells, CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, neutrophils, macrophages, and myeloid dendritic cells. A2bR expression weakly and negatively correlated with B-cell infiltration only. The expression of A2bR in OSCC was positively correlated with E-cadherin and PCNA, while the expression of A3R was positively correlated with that of cleaved caspase-3.Within the limitations of the study it seems that the overexpression of A2bR and A3R results in the poor prognosis of OSCC, suggesting that A2bR promotes cell proliferation in OSCC, while A3R may be involved in OSCC progression by regulating tumor cell apoptosis and immune microenvironment.