Aberrant expression of β-catenin and its association with ΔNp63, Notch-1, and clinicopathological factors in oral squamous cell carcinoma

Clin Oral Investig. 2012 Aug;16(4):1275-88. doi: 10.1007/s00784-011-0605-0. Epub 2011 Sep 1.

Abstract

The present study focuses on the correlation between the expression pattern of β-catenin (component of Wnt signaling), ΔNp63 (proliferation marker), and Notch 1 (transmembrane receptor) in oral squamous cell carcinoma. The study also aims to investigate the interaction between β-catenin and ΔNp63 in oral cancer. Furthermore, we also analyzed the prognostic significance of β-catenin, ΔNp63, and Notch 1 in oral squamous cell carcinoma. Immunohistochemical analysis of β-catenin, ΔNp63, and Notch 1 were done in 62 cases of oral squamous cell carcinoma. Co-immunoprecipitation analysis was done to study the possible interaction between β-catenin and ΔNp63 in oral cancer. Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate overall and disease-free survival, and the Log-rank test was used to compare the resulting curves. Statistically significant positive correlation was found between the localization of β-catenin and the expression of ΔNp63 (p = 0.001**, r (s) = 0.427), whereas, no significant association was found between the expression pattern of β-catenin and Notch 1. Interestingly, interaction between β-catenin and ΔNp63 was observed in oral carcinoma. Moreover, β-catenin and ΔNp63 may be related to worst survival in oral carcinoma. Statistically significant positive association between localization of β-catenin and expression of ΔNp63 suggests that they might have dependent roles in maintaining the proliferation of oral carcinoma cells. In addition, the downregulated expression of Notch 1 was related to invasion and differentiation status of oral carcinoma cells. Furthermore, β-catenin and ΔNp63 may be used as independent prognostic markers of oral carcinoma. On the other hand, interaction of β-catenin with ΔNp63 may be a key event in maintaining the proliferation of oral carcinoma cells. The present study indicates that β-catenin and ΔNp63 may be used as independent prognostic markers of oral carcinoma and the interaction of β-catenin with ΔNp63 may be a crucial event in regulating proliferation and differentiation of oral carcinoma cells, which may be used as a target for therapeutic implications.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Biomarkers, Tumor / analysis
  • Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / pathology*
  • Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / secondary
  • Cell Differentiation
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Cell Proliferation
  • Disease-Free Survival
  • Down-Regulation
  • Female
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 / analysis
  • Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 beta
  • Humans
  • Immunoprecipitation
  • Keratin-14 / analysis
  • Lymphatic Metastasis / pathology
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Mouth Neoplasms / pathology*
  • Neoplasm Grading
  • Neoplasm Invasiveness
  • Neoplasm Staging
  • Prognosis
  • Receptor, Notch1 / analysis*
  • Smoking
  • Survival Rate
  • Tobacco, Smokeless
  • Transcription Factors / analysis*
  • Tumor Suppressor Proteins / analysis*
  • beta Catenin / analysis*

Substances

  • Biomarkers, Tumor
  • CTNNB1 protein, human
  • Keratin-14
  • NOTCH1 protein, human
  • Receptor, Notch1
  • TP63 protein, human
  • Transcription Factors
  • Tumor Suppressor Proteins
  • beta Catenin
  • Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 beta
  • Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3