Characterization of gene expression profiles of 3 different human oral squamous cell carcinoma cell lines with different invasion and metastatic capacities.

PURPOSE

The gene expression of 3 oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) human cell lines, BHY, HN, and HSC-3, were studied based on their reported ability to invade adjacent bone or metastasize to cervical lymph nodes and/or distant organs.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The characteristics of each cell line were confirmed on scid mice using micro-positron emission tomography (PET)/computerized tomography (CT) imaging techniques. Complimentary DNA (cDNA) microarray techniques were used to determine the gene expression profile differences between each of the three OSCC cell lines.

RESULTS

BHY, HN, and HSC-3 cell lines expressed 139, 214, and 128 up-regulated genes; and 117, 262, and 117 down-regulated genes, respectively. The clusterization of data showed that there are 13 genes that are up-regulated and 83 genes that are down-regulated in all 3 OSCC cell lines. Collection of genes organized by pathway may cause aggregate evaluation of anomalies. Thus the pathway analysis performed for each cell line based on cDNA microarray results showed BHY, HN, and HSC-3 cell lines to have 8, 10, and 3 up-regulated pathways and 3, 9, and 6 down-regulated pathways, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

This study showed that cDNA microarray analysis is an effective tool for mapping molecular signatures. With this technique it is possible to observe the entire genome of a malignant tumor so as to appreciate the simultaneous interactions among thousands of genes.