1999 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Relationship between the expression of cell adhesion molecule and tumor invasion and metastasis in primary oral squamous cell carcinomas
| Project/Area Number |
09672083
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Surgical dentistry
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| Research Institution | Osaka Dental University |
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Principal Investigator |
SHIRASU Rikiya Osaka Dental University, First department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Professor, 歯学部, 教授 (60067030)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
SASAKI Toshio Osaka Dental University, Second department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Assistant, 歯学部, 助手 (90301647)
TAMURA Isao Osaka Dental University, Department of Biochemistry, Lecturer, 歯学部, 講師 (70278571)
WATO Masahiro Osaka Dental University, Department of Oral Pathology, Lecturer, 歯学部, 講師 (20167216)
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| Project Period (FY) |
1997 – 1999
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| Keywords | Oral squamous cell carcinoma / Intercellular adhesion / Cell adhesion molecule / Invasion / Metastasis / Cadherin / Catenin |
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| Research Abstract |
We carried out immunohistochemical investigations on the relationship of E-cadherin expression to prognosis in patients with primary oral squamous cell carcinoma.
E-cadherin is expressed homogeneoulsy with a typical membranous staining at cell-cell borders in normal oral epithelium. Decreased (or lost) expression of E-cadherin closely with cancer differentiation grade and with cancers having clinical lymph node metastasis. Moreover, decreased (or lost) E-cadherin expression correlated with shorter patient survival. However, E-cadherin expression did not correlate with T-category or clinical stage.
Intercellular adhesion of epithelial tissue is mainly regulated by the E-cadherin (E-CD) molecule, α-Catenin (α-CAT) is an E-CD associated cytoplasmic protein that forms a linkage to the cytoskeleton and regulates E-CD function. To investigate the relationship between the expression of E-CD and α-CAT, and the expression of both adhesion molecules and histopathological features, we examined immu
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nohistochemically and biochemically E-CD and α-CAT expression in primary oral squamous cell carcinoma biopsies. Both adhesion molecules expressed homogeneously with a typical membranous staining at cell-cell borders in normal oral epithelium.
The reduction (or loss) of E-CD expression was 38.7%, and that of α-CAT was 71.0% in oral cancers. The expression of α-CAT was closely correlated with that of E-CD in many cancers, but the reduction (or loss) of α-CAT expression was greater than E-CD in some. Regarding histopathological features, the reduction (or loss) of α-CAT expression is more correlated with cancer differentiation and invasion than is E-CD expression in human oral squamous cell carcinomas.
These results suggest that not only E-CD but also α-CAT are important regulators of intercellular adhesion, and that α-CAT is also involved in tumor differentiation and invasiveness. These findings suggest that down-regulation of α-catenin, which may reflect dysfunction of the cadherin-mediated cell-cell adhesion system, is a parameter of lymph node metastasis in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma. Less
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