(633) Investigating the Role of Zinc on T2R Expression in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Introduction: Zinc is a key regulator of taste perception and has been shown to modulate bitter taste receptor (T2R) expression across multiple epithelial models. Because several T2Rs are differentially upregulated in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and have been linked to calcium-dependent apoptotic signaling, we investigated whether zinc deprivation alters expression of HNSCC-relevant, pro-apoptotic T2Rs.

Methods: UM-SCC-47 cells were cultured in either serum-free high-glucose DMEM (“zinc-deprived”) or DMEM supplemented with standard 15.3 μM ZnSO₄ (“zinc-adequate”). Three biological replicates were seeded into paired T25 flasks and cultured for 72 hours. At harvest, cells were collected, washed, and then lysed in TRIzol, followed by RNA extraction, cDNA synthesis, and qPCR normalized to the housekeeping gene UBC. Expression of HNSCC-relevant T2Rs (TAS2R4, TAS2R5, TAS2R10, TAS2R14, TAS2R19, TAS2R20, TAS2R42) was quantified for zinc-deprived and zinc-adequate cells.

Results: Among the seven genes tested, TAS2R5, TAS2R10, and TAS2R42 demonstrated significantly lower expression in the zinc-deprived condition (p < 0.05). TAS2R4, TAS2R14, TAS2R19, and TAS2R20 also showed lower expression but did not achieve statistical significance.

Conclusions: These preliminary data suggest zinc deprivation is associated with reduced expression of HNSCC-relevant T2Rs, reaching statistical significance for a subset of receptors. These findings support zinc availability as a plausible modulator of T2R expression in HNSCC, warranting further investigation with additional biological replicates and functional assays to define potential effects on calcium signaling and apoptosis.