Wu H

High expression of CXCR2 is associated with tumorigenesis, progression, and prognosis of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma

The laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) is one of the most common cancers threatening people’s life. CXC-chemokine receptor type 2 (CXCR2) was reported to play critical roles in angiogenesis, tumorigenesis, and metastasis of several cancers such as colon cancer, melanoma, lung cancer, and so on. However, the expression of CXCR2 in LSCC and its association with clinical characters of LSCC remain unclear. Quantitative real-time reverse transcription-PCR and immunohistochemistry were used, respectively, to analyze the mRNA level and protein level of CXCR2 in 109 cases of LSCC tissues and 28 cases of tumor-adjacent normal tissues. The expression of CXCR2 in LSCC was significantly higher than that in tumor-adjacent tissues. Moreover, the expression level of CXCR2 protein in LSCC was significantly related to lymph node metastasis (Pxa0=xa0.022), histopathological grade (Pxa0=xa0.038), and 5xa0years’ survival (Pxa0=xa0.007). Cox regression analysis revealed that CXCR2 expression (Pxa0=xa0.031), as well as lymphatic metastasis (Pxa0=xa0.026) and TNM classification (Pxa0=xa0.042), is an independent prognostic marker of LSCC. High expression of CXCR2 is also associated with short survival of LSCC patients. Our data indicate that the expression of CXCR2 is associated with the development and progression of LSCC. CXCR2 expression may serve as an independent prognostic marker for LSCC patients.

Potential therapeutic target and independent prognostic marker of TROP2 in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

The human trophoblastic cell surface antigen 2 (TROP2) gene is associated with the development of malignancies, but its expression in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and its relationship with clinical characteristics of the disease remain undetermined.

Trop2 inhibition suppresses the proliferation and invasion of laryngeal carcinoma cells via the extracellular signal-regulated kinase/mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway

The cell surface glycoprotein Trop2 is overexpressed in various types of epithelial cancer. Laryngeal carcinoma is one of the most common types of head and neck cancer and in a previous study, the expression of Trop2 in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) was identified as an independent prognostic factor. However, the biological significance of Trop2 in LSCC development remains unclear. In the current study, Trop2 protein expression in fresh LSCC tissue and paracancerous tissue was investigated using western blotting. Trop2 in the Hep2 laryngeal cell line was subsequently suppressed by transfection with small interfering RNA (siRNA). The effects of knockdown of Trop2 on cell viability, migration, invasiveness and ERK/MAPK pathway activity were investigated in the current study. The expression of Trop2 in fresh LSCC tissue was demonstrated to be significantly greater than that in paracancerous tissue. Trop2 expression was also identified to be required for proliferation, migration and invasiveness of Hep2 laryngeal carcinoma cells, as all were blocked by siRNA-mediated Trop2 inhibition. Notably, the ERK/MAPK signaling pathway and cell cycle factor, cyclin D1, were identified to be suppressed following the knockdown of Trop2 in Hep2 cells. These observations suggest that Trop2 serves an oncogenic role in LSCC and has potential as a therapeutic target.

Outcome comparison of two methods of pharyngeal cavity reconstruction in uvulopalatopharyngoplasty.

Abstract Conclusions: The efficacy of uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP) can be achieved without application of an apposition suture of the palatopharyngeal arch and the palatoglossal arch. Objective: To compare the outcomes of two different methods of pharyngeal cavity reconstruction in UPPP. Methods: Forty-eight patients with obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) underwent UPPP (uvula-preserving). A classical pharyngeal cavity reconstruction was performed in 24 patients in group one, with plastic suture of the inferior nasopharynx and exposure of the tonsillar fossa in 24 patients in group two. The parameters evaluated were the subjective symptom score, the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), and polysomnography result. The mean operating times and complications of the post-operative pharyngeal cavity were investigated. Results: No significant difference was observed in surgical success (pu2009=u20090.54), subjective syndromes (snoring, sleep apnoea, morning headache, daytime sleepiness) (pu2009=u20090.16, 0.36, 0.79 and 0.52), ESS (pu2009=u20090.41), apnoea-hypopnoea index (AHI) (pu2009=u20090.32), and minimum SaO2 (pu2009=u20090.13) between the two groups. In group one, the mean operating time was 54.72u2009±u20096.52u2009min, 11 suture dehiscence (45.8%), and five scar hypertrophy of the pharyngeal wall (20.8%) were observed post-operatively; while in group two was 38.78u2009±u20095.75u2009min, no suture dehiscence resulting from suture cutting of tissue, three scar hypertrophy were observed (12.5%).

Achaete-scute complex homologue-1 promotes development of laryngocarcinoma via facilitating the epithelial–mesenchymal transformation:

Laryngeal cancer is one of the most common fatal cancers among head and neck carcinomas, whose mechanism, however, remains unclear. The proneural basic-helix-loop-helix protein achaete-scute complex homologue-1, a member of the basic helix-loop-helix family, plays a very important role in many cancers. This study aims to explore the clinical value and mechanism of achaete-scute complex homologue-1 in laryngeal cancer. Methods including Cell Counting Kit-8, flow cytometry, Transwell invasion assays, and scratch assay were adopted to further explore the bio-function of achaete-scute complex homologue-1, whose expression was examined in fresh and paraffin chip of laryngeal carcinoma tissues by means of western blot and immunohistochemistry, after the interference of achaete-scute complex homologue-1; achaete-scute complex homologue-1, an overexpression in laryngeal carcinoma whose carcinogenicity potential was confirmed via western blot, was correlative with T classification (p = 0.002), histological differentiation (p = 0.000), lymph node metastasis (p = 0.000), and poor survival (p = 0.000). Multivariate analysis shows that achaete-scute complex homologue-1 overexpression is an independent prognostic factor unfavorable to laryngeal carcinoma patients (p = 0.000). Moreover, knocking down achaete-scute complex homologue-1 expression could significantly suppress the proliferation, migration, and invasion of laryngeal carcinoma cell in vitro and disorder epithelial–mesenchymal transformation–associated protein expression. Achaete-scute complex homologue-1 plays an important role in the genesis and progression of laryngeal carcinoma and may act as a potential biomarker for therapeutic target and prognostic prediction.

Abnormal expression of HAX‑1 is associated with cellular proliferation and migration in human hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma

HCLS1-associated protein X-1 (HAX-1) is highly expressed or overexpressed in various types of human tumor, and its overexpression is associated with cancer metastasis and cellular proliferation. However, the precise molecular mechanism involved in HAX-1-associated proliferation and metastasis in hypopharyngeal carcinoma is unknown. The present study aimed to investigate the role of HAX-1 in the metastasis and proliferation of hypopharyngeal carcinoma. Reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis and western blotting indicated that HAX-1 was overexpressed in hypopharyngeal carcinoma specimens. MTT, clone formation and transwell assays were performed to detect the effects of HAX-1 knockdown or overexpression on the major oncogenic properties of the FaDu hypopharyngeal carcinoma cell line. Downregulation of HAX-1 was observed to significantly suppress cellular proliferation, migration and clonal. By contrast, overexpression of HAX-1 significantly promoted cellular proliferation, migration and clonal formation. Furthermore, HAX-1 knockdown markedly suppressed epithelial-mesenchymal transition. In conclusion, HAX-1 is a potential oncogene, and may promote the tumorigenesis and progression of hypopharyngeal carcinoma, as well as serve as a valuable molecular target for the treatment of hypopharyngeal carcinoma.

Profiling and bioinformatics analyses reveal differential expression of circular RNA in tongue cancer revealed by high-throughput sequencing: QIU et al.

Circular RNAs (circRNA) are special noncoding RNAs. They are widely present, but with unknown functions. Recent studies have shown that many endogenous circRNAs have sponge function to absorb microRNAs (miRNA). They can regulate target gene messenger RNA expression and play important roles in many biological processes. However, expression profile and function of circRNAs in human tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC) have not been reported. High‐throughput sequencing was performed to identify and annotate from three TSCC tissues and adjacent tissues. A separate set (nu2009=u200920) of human TSCCs and corresponding adjacent tissues were subjected to reverse‐transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) for validation of circRNAs expression profile. Gene Ontology (GO) functional analysis, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis, and circRNA‐miRNA network analysis were also performed to predict the function of circRNA in TSCC. A total of 12u2009156 circRNAs were identified and annotated, most of the circRNAs were novel ( nu2009=u20096231) and exonic (62.09%). Statistical analysis revealed 322 differentially expressed (DE) circRNAs. RT‐PCR results showed that circRNA expression in TSCC was higher than that in adjacent tissues. GO functional analysis, KEGG pathway analysis, and circRNA‐miRNA network analysis all showed that circRNAs correlated with tumor development and progression to a certain extent. The current study is the first to systematically characterize and annotate circRNA expression in TSCC, the majority were novel circRNAs. Some host genes of the DE circRNAs were involved in tumor signaling pathway and had complicated correlations with tumor‐relevant miRNAs, indicating that circRNAs might be promoted development and progression of TSCC.