FIGURE 4.

ASCT2 expression was positively correlated with glutamine addiction in OSCC. (A) CCK8 assays were conducted to determine the growth of 6 OSCC cell lines (UM1, HSC4, SCC15, HSC6, CAL33, and HSC3) cultured in a glutamine‐free environment compared with HOK cell line. (B) Higher ASCT2 expression in the 6 OSCC cell lines compared with the HOK cell line was determined by Western blotting. (C) Spearman correlation demonstrated that cell growth in a glutamine‐free environment was negatively associated with ASCT2 expression (P = .0088). The result indicates that ASCT2 expression was significantly associated with the addiction of glutamine in OSCC cells. In addition, wound healing assays were used to confirm the glutamine addiction of UM1 (D) and SCC15 cells (E) (*P < 0.01). ASCT2, alanine‐serine‐cysteine transporter 2; Gln, glutamine; OSCC, oral squamous cell carcinoma