The expression of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunits and their associations with local immune cells and prognosis in oral squamous cell carcinoma.

α5 is the only subunit associated with decreased local immune cells and worse survival, while α1, α3, and α7 are associated with increased local immune cells in OSCC. α5 and α7 are correlated with different EMT states to be mesenchymal-like and epithelial-like OSCC, respectively. Protein expression data of the nAChR subunits, complementary to gene expression data, could provide meaningful information regarding the EMT status of OSCC associated with immune responses and prognosis.