Sowmya S V, Rao Roopa S, Prasad Kavitha
Department of Oral Pathology and Microbiology, Faculty of Dental Sciences, MS Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India.
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dental Sciences, MS Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India.
J Carcinog. 2020 Aug 6;19:8. doi: 10.4103/jcar.JCar_8_20. eCollection 2020.
Controversies prevail regarding the true predictive role of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) biomarkers in metastasis of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). There is also limited research carried on till date wherein the protein and gene expression of EMT biomarkers have been investigated simultaneously in the Indian population.
The aim of this study was to assess the gene expression and quantitative protein expression of EMT biomarkers using conventional method and MATLAB software and to determine if there is any difference in the expression between metastatic and nonmetastatic OSCCs with clinicopathologic correlation.
Twenty metastatic and nonmetastatic OSCC tissue sections each were obtained from department archives. Gene expression and quantified protein expression of EMT markers were done and correlated with clinical parameters.
Sections immunostained for EMT biomarkers were evaluated using semi-quantitative and quantitative (MATLAB) methods. Gene expression using semi-quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction was done. These findings were correlated with clinical parameters.
Pearson's Chi-square test, Student's -test, and univariate logistic regression analysis were performed using SPSS software.
The low immunoexpression of E-cadherin and β-catenin and the high expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and MMP-9 correlate with Stages III and IV showing high metastatic risk. Furthermore, the upregulated MMP-2 and MMP-9 gene expressions in advanced clinical stages of OSCC have high metastatic potential.
This study is the first of its kind to employ texture and color segmentation in MATLAB to objectively assess the protein expression of EMT biomarkers. This research is instrumental in studying the protein and gene expressions of EMT markers with clinical correlation.
上皮-间质转化（EMT）生物标志物在口腔鳞状细胞癌（OSCC）转移中的真正预测作用存在诸多争议。迄今为止，针对印度人群同时研究EMT生物标志物的蛋白质和基因表达的研究也很有限。
本研究旨在使用传统方法和MATLAB软件评估EMT生物标志物的基因表达和定量蛋白质表达，并确定转移性和非转移性OSCC之间的表达是否存在差异以及与临床病理的相关性。
从科室档案中获取20个转移性和非转移性OSCC组织切片。进行EMT标志物的基因表达和定量蛋白质表达，并与临床参数相关联。
使用半定量和定量（MATLAB）方法评估经EMT生物标志物免疫染色的切片。采用半定量逆转录聚合酶链反应进行基因表达检测。这些结果与临床参数相关联。
使用SPSS软件进行Pearson卡方检验、学生t检验和单因素逻辑回归分析。
E-钙黏蛋白和β-连环蛋白的低免疫表达以及基质金属蛋白酶（MMP）-2和MMP-9的高表达与显示高转移风险的III期和IV期相关。此外，OSCC晚期临床阶段中MMP-2和MMP-9基因表达上调具有高转移潜能。
本研究首次在MATLAB中采用纹理和颜色分割来客观评估EMT生物标志物的蛋白质表达。该研究有助于研究具有临床相关性的EMT标志物的蛋白质和基因表达。
