Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in head and neck cancer patients. To evaluate the immunotherapy of OSCC in East Asian, we established a novel cell line, named NHRI-HN1, from a mouse tongue tumor induced by 4-NQO/arecoline. M1-2sph-T (sphT)and M1-2sph-N (sphN) cells were derived from orthotopic tumors and cervical lymph nodes of mice injected with NHRI-HN1 cells, respectively. Compared to NHRI-HN1 cells, sphT and sphN cells displayed faster tumor growth in mice, along with increased cell growth, migration, and sphere formation. These cells also showed enhanced activation of ERK and markers of EMT. Based on the gene expression array analysis, we found that both sphT and sphN cells showed higher expression levels of CD80 as compared with NHRI-HN1 cells. Knockdown of CD80 inhibited sphere formation and tumor growth of mouse OSCC cells. Also, the sphere formation and tumor growth were enhanced in mouse OSCC cells with high expression of CD80. We found CD80 expression was correlated with the expression of Sox2 and CD274 in mouse OSCC cells. The relationship among CD80, Sox2 and CD274 in OSCC cells was under investigation.
