Abstract:
Objective
To determine the expression of hTERT and P53 pathway proteins （P63／P53／P21／MDM2） in tongue squamous cell carcinoma （TSCC） and precancerous lesions， and analyze their correlationship.
Methods
Immunohistochemical SP method was performed to detect the levels of hTERT， P63， P53， P21 and MDM2 proteins in 47 cases of TSCC tissues， 7 cases of oral leukoplakia lesions， and 11 cases of normal tongue epithelia.
Results
The positive expression levels of hTERT protein in normal， oral leukoplakia， and TSCC were 0， 42.9%， and 76.6%， respectively （P ＜0.01）. The positive rates of P53 and MDM2 protein were up-regulated， while the expression level of P21WAF1 was down-regulated compared to oral leukoplakia and normal tongue tissues （P ＜0.05）.Further analysis indicated that there was a positive correlation between P21WAF1 level and the expression of hTERT protein （r＝0.51）. Additionally， positive staining of P63 was detected in almost all TSCC lesions and normal tongue tissues.
Conclusions
That the activation of hTERT is an early event in tongue carcinogenesis. Moreover， loss of P21WAF1 may synergistically act with hTERT upon the establishment and progression of TSCC. In contrast， P53 and MDM2 are likely to play important roles in certain tongue malignancies.
Key words:
Carcinoma,
Squamous cell carcinoma,
Human telomerase reverse transcriptase,
Protein expression
Xi-qiang LIU, Hong-zhang HUANG, Bin ZHANG, Chao-bin PAN, Jian-hui XU, Dong-sheng YU, Dong-lin ZENG, Hai-kuo TANG. Expression of human telomerase reverse transcriptase and P53 pathway proteins in tongue squamous cell carcinoma and their correlations[J]. Chinese Journal of Stomatological Research(Electronic Edition), 2007, 01(01): 11-14.