Department of Oral Pathology and Microbiology, Faculty of Dental Sciences, Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences, M S R Nagar, Bangalore, Karnataka, 560054, India.
Department of Maxillofacial Surgery and Diagnostic Sciences, Division of Oral Pathology, College of Dentistry, Jazan University, Jazan, Saudi Arabia.
Pathol Oncol Res. 2020 Jul;26(3):1573-1582. doi: 10.1007/s12253-019-00700-6. Epub 2019 Sep 5.
Human telomerase reverse transcriptase enzyme, the catalytic subunit of telomerase are seen to be frequently reactivated in cancers including Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Increased hTERT expression have been seen in potentially malignant conditions including Oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF). The aim of the study was to evaluate the expression levels in OSMF, OSCC in the background of OSMF and OSCC using immunohistochemistry and also to correlate hTERT expression with clinicopathologic parameters. A total of 50 histopathologically diagnosed cases of 20 OSMF, 20 OSCC wherein 5 were OSCC in the background of OSMF and 10 Normal oral mucosae were retrieved from the departmental archives and subjected to immunohistochemical analysis of hTERT. The expression of hTERT increased from normal, OSMF, to OSCC with statistically significant differences in mean labelling score (LS). We also found a shift in cellular localization of stain where, normal mucosal tissues showed a nuclear stain unlike OSMF, where combined nuclear and cytoplasmic staining as noted. The tumor cells in OSCC showed predominant cytoplasmic staining. There was no correlation between hTERT expression and clinicopathological parameters of OSMF. However, a significant increase of hTERT expression was seen with increasing histological grading of OSCC. These results suggest the role of hTERT in the early event of malignant transformation of OSMF. Telomerase could be used as a potent diagnostic marker to identify high-risk group of OSMF.
人端粒酶逆转录酶酶，端粒酶的催化亚基在包括口腔鳞状细胞癌（OSCC）在内的癌症中经常被重新激活。在包括口腔黏膜下纤维化（OSMF）在内的潜在恶性病变中，已经观察到 hTERT 表达增加。本研究旨在使用免疫组织化学评估 OSMF、OSCC 中的表达水平，并在 OSMF 背景下的 OSCC 中评估 hTERT 表达与临床病理参数的相关性。从科室档案中检索了 50 例经组织病理学诊断为 20 例 OSMF、20 例 OSCC 的病例，其中 5 例为 OSMF 背景下的 OSCC 和 10 例正常口腔黏膜，并对 hTERT 进行免疫组织化学分析。hTERT 的表达从正常、OSMF 到 OSCC 增加，平均标记评分（LS）有统计学意义。我们还发现染色的细胞定位发生了变化，正常黏膜组织显示核染色，而 OSMF 则显示核和细胞质联合染色。OSCC 中的肿瘤细胞显示出明显的细胞质染色。hTERT 表达与 OSMF 的临床病理参数之间没有相关性。然而，随着 OSCC 组织学分级的增加，hTERT 表达显著增加。这些结果表明 hTERT 在 OSMF 恶性转化的早期事件中起作用。端粒酶可作为一种潜在的诊断标志物，用于识别 OSMF 的高危人群。
