E‐cadherin downregulation and Twist overexpression since early stages of oral carcinogenesis

Abstract

There is some evidence of Twist participation in oral carcinogenesis; however, little is known about its interaction with E-cadherin in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) development. This experimental study included an immunohistochemical analysis of Twist and E-cadherin proteins in paraffin-embedded specimens of oral leukoplakia (OL), OSCC, and normal oral mucosa. In addition, it was also performed a Western blot and double-immunofluorescence analysis of Twist and E-cadherin expression in OSCC cell lines. Significant differences in Twist and E-cadherin immunoexpression were observed between normal oral mucosa and OL, with an inverse relation since the earliest stages of oral dysplasia (r = -0,512; P < 0.001). Western blot and double-immunofluorescence analysis showed differences in Twist and E-cadherin expression among human oral keratinocytes and OSCC cell lines suggesting that downregulation of E-cadherin occurs in a dependent manner of Twist in OSCC. Our results showed a possible value of Twist and E-cadherin in the prediction of risk of oral epithelium malignant transformation.

Alterations in the expression of EMT‐related proteins claudin‐1, claudin‐4 and claudin‐7, E‐cadherin, TWIST1 and ZEB1 in oral lichen planus

“…E‐cadherin staining was strongest in the intermediate cell layer both in normal OM and in OLP. This finding is in line with previous reports of strong E‐cadherin expression in basal/parabasal cell layer and stratum spinosum in normal OM . The epithelial expression of E‐cadherin was significantly weaker in OLP than in controls, corroborating the results of previous studies .…”

“…It plays a role in cell growth, differentiation, migration and polarity . Loss of E‐cadherin is a hallmark of EMT …”

“…In OL, TWIST1 immunoexpression is increased from mild‐to‐severe dysplasia and most intense cytoplasmic staining is found in dividing basal and parabasal cell layer . TWIST1 is upregulated and E‐cadherin is downregulated during early stages of oral cancer development . Altered TWIST1 expression is also linked to progression and differentiation status of OSCC with increased immunoexpression in poorly differentiated OSCC …”

Expression of interleukin-6 is associated with epithelial-mesenchymal transition and survival rates in gallbladder cancer

“…IL-6 induces EMT changes in tumor cells via activation of the STAT3 signaling pathway and STAT3-knockdown reverses these changes (26). The key activity of EMT (27) is hypothesized to be the reduction of cell-to-cell adhesion and induction of cell motility through downregulation of E-cadherin and may be associated with the expression of Twist and Vimentin (14).…”

E‐cadherin regulators are differentially expressed in the epithelium and stroma of keratocystic odontogenic tumors

“…Adhesion molecules, including E‐cadherin, have been studied in odontogenic tumors with the goal of understanding their roles in neoplastic progression , cell differentiation, and the development and capacity of tumor invasion . Although decreased E‐cadherin immunoexpression might explain the invasive growth of KOTs , that evidence was not confirmed in the present study because 62.5% of KOT cases showed preserved E‐cadherin immunoexpression.…”