Bioinformatic Analysis and Experimental Verification Reveals KBTBD6 as a Novel Prognostic Genes Associated with Immune Infiltration in OSCC

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is one of the most common malignant tumors and has a poor prognosis. Kelch repeat and BTB domain-containing protein 6 (KBTBD6) regulates the cytoskeleton, cell proliferation, and cell migration as part of the CUL3 (KBTBD6/7) E3 ubiquitin ligase complex, and has been associated with the development of pituitary adenomas. Here, a bioinformatics analysis was conducted using data from OSCC patients in The Cancer Genome Atlas database. Results indicate that KBTBD6 levels in OSCC patient tissues were significantly higher than in normal tissues. Additionally, high KBTBD6 expression correlated with poor prognosis. Functional annotation of differentially expressed genes associated with KBTBD6 in the OSCC cohort revealed significant enrichment of the interleukin-17 signaling pathway. Furthermore, KBTBD6 expression also correlated significantly with immune cell subset infiltration and immune checkpoint gene expression. These findings suggest that KBTBD6 is a promising therapeutic target and prognostic indicator in OSCC. 口腔鳞状细胞癌（Oral squamous cell carcinoma，OSCC）是最常见的恶性肿瘤之一，预后差。Kelch重复序列和含BTB结构域的蛋白6（KBTBD 6）作为CUL 3（KBTBD 6/7）E3泛素连接酶复合物的一部分调节细胞骨架、细胞增殖和细胞迁移，并且与垂体腺瘤的发展相关。在这里，我们进行了生物信息学分析的数据，口腔鳞癌患者在癌症基因组图谱（TCGA）数据库。我们发现KBTBD 6在口腔鳞癌患者组织中的表达水平显著高于正常组织。此外，KBTBD 6的高表达与不良预后相关。在OSCC组群中与KBTBD 6相关的差异表达基因的功能注释揭示了IL-17信号通路的显著富集。此外，KBTBD 6表达还与免疫细胞亚群和免疫检查点基因的浸润显着相关。研究结果表明，KBTBD 6可作为口腔鳞癌的一个非常有前途的作用靶点和预后指标。