Expression of gap junctional protein connexin43 during 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide-induced rat tongue carcinogenesis
Expression of gap junctional protein connexin43 during 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide-induced rat tongue carcinogenesis
复制标题
4-硝基喹啉-1-氧化物诱导大鼠舌癌过程中间隙连接蛋白connexin43的表达
DOI：
10.1007/s10735-009-9229-y
复制
发表时间：
2009-06-01
影响因子：
3.2
通讯作者：
Cheng, Bin
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Xia, Juan;Liu, Xiumei;Cheng, Bin
口腔癌的发生是一个多步骤的过程，需要一系列分子遗传事件的积累和相互作用。间隙连接是由连接蛋白亚基组成的细胞间通道，介导细胞间的通讯。缝隙连接的功能障碍被认为与癌症的发展有关。因此，我们研究了连接蛋白（Cx）43，在口腔上皮细胞的主要连接蛋白之一，在4-硝基喹啉-1-氧化物诱导的大鼠舌癌的表达。免疫组化结果显示，正常大鼠口腔上皮细胞Cx43主要表达于细胞膜上。正常上皮细胞基底细胞层弱，棘层和颗粒层阳性，角质层阴性。在整个癌变过程中，Cx43免疫染色面积和平均强度均呈下降趋势，各病理组间差异有统计学意义（P < 0.05）。口腔癌上皮细胞胞浆染色。而Cx43 mRNA水平在口腔黏膜癌变过程中无显著性差异（P > 0.05），且与Cx43蛋白免疫染色面积和平均强度无相关性。提示Cx43表达下调可能是口腔癌发生的早期事件，可作为口腔癌变早期变化的生物标志物。
Oral carcinogenesis is a multistep process and requires accumulation and interplay of a series of molecular genetic events. Gap junctions are intercellular channels composed of connexin subunits that mediate cell-cell communication. The disfunctions of gap junctions are believed to be associated with cancer development. We therefore investigated the expression of connexin (Cx)43, one of the major connexins in oral epithelia, during 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide-induced rat tongue carcinogenesis. By immunohistochemistry, Cx43 expression was observed mainly in the cell membrane in normal rat oral epithelia. It was weak in the basal cell layer, increased in the stratum spinosum and stratum granulosum, and negative in the stratum corneum of normal epithelia. Throughout the course of carcinogenesis, both Cx43 immunostained area and mean intensity decreased with significant difference among various histopathological groups (P < 0.05). In cancerous oral epithelia cytoplasmic staining could be observed. However, Cx43 mRNA level showed no significant difference in the progress of oral carcinogenesis (P > 0.05) and without correlation to Cx43 protein immunostained area and mean intensity. Our results indicated that downregulation of Cx43 might be an early event during oral carcinogenesis, which could be a biomarker for early changes in oral malignant transformation.