Microscope image of an oral cancer cell lacking RUNX2 isoform II, resulting in physical changes associated with ferroptosis. Image Credit: Huang et al. (2025)
Most tumors in the jaw, mouth, and face are caused by a type of cancer known oral squamous cell carcinoma (or OSCC for short). However, current therapies for OSCC are limited and new approaches are desperately needed.
One promising therapeutic target is the protein RUNX2, which has been shown to promote the progression of cancers, including OSCC. Most cells produce two slightly different versions of the RUNX2 protein, known as isoform I and isoform II. However, how these two isoforms contribute to tumor formation is poorly understood.
Huang et al. found that isoform II – but not isoform I – was highly abundant in the tissues of patients diagnosed with OSCC, particularly in individuals whose tumors were more developed and harder to treat. Further experiments revealed that this increased production is regulated by another protein called HOXA10, which specifically activates the gene that codes for isoform II.
The team discovered that OSCC cells need RUNX2 isoform II in order to multiply and grow in to tumors. Isoform II enhances cell proliferation by triggering the production of another protein called PRDX2, which blocks two carefully regulated programs of cell death: apoptosis and ferroptosis. In the absence of these two programs, OSCC cells are able to grow and expand without any restrictions, resulting in an overgrowth of cancerous tissue.
This work has not only identified a new pathway for tumor formation, but also a novel regulatory mechanism for ferroptosis and apoptosis. These findings suggest that members of this pathway – HOXA10, RUNX2 isoform II, and PRDX2 – could be new therapeutic targets for OSCC, and potentially other types of cancer that are also associated with high levels of RUNX2 isoform II.
