Interaction between MT1-MMP and CD44 in the invasion and metastasis of head and neck cancer

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

We investigated the expression of MT 1,2,3-MMPs in the head and neck cancer cell line in vitro. The expression of MT1,2,3-MMPs was also studied for the surgical specimen using Northern blotting, immuno-histochemical study, and in situ hybridization. The expression of CD44 v6 and CD44 v2 was studied by immuno-histochemical method. MT1-MMP mRNA was expressed in all of five head and neck cancer cell lines. The level of MT1-MMP mRNA expression was closely correlated to the rate of lymph node metastasis (p=0.0081). The relation between over expression of MT1-MMP mRNA and lymph node metastasis was statistically significant in multivariate analysis. The expression of CD44v6 was also correlated with lymph node metastasis, and the expression of CD44v2 was correlated with poor prognoses. The expression of MT1-MMP is related to metastasis of head and neck cancer, and the expressions of CD44 v6, v2 are closely related to the biological malignancy of head and neck cancer. The relation between the expression of MT1-MMP and CD44 is important to evaluate the malignant potential of head and neck cancer.