Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Diseases, Clinicum, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
Translational Immunology Research Program (TRIMM), University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
Anticancer Res. 2020 Nov;40(11):6029-6037. doi: 10.21873/anticanres.14624.
Tongue cancer is more common in men than in women. Yet the effects of sex steroid hormones on the behaviour of oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (OTSCC) are not well known. Matrix metalloproteinase 8 (MMP8) is expressed in OTSCC and can degrade estrogen receptors (ERs).
Western blot was used to examine the levels of ERβ in OTSCC cell lines (HSC-3 and SCC-25). We evaluated the effects of estradiol and dihydrotestosterone (DHT) on HSC-3 and SCC-25 cell migration, invasion and viability. The effect of estradiol on the invasion of MMP8-overexpressing (MMP8) and empty vector HSC-3 cells was examined using 3D spheroid invasion assay.
Both HSC-3 and SCC-25 cells expressed ERβ. In scratch assay, estradiol, but not DHT, reduced the migration and invasion of HSC-3 and SCC-25 cells. MMP8 HSC-3 cells showed weaker invasion than empty vector cells, in line with previous reports. However, MMP8 overexpression did not alter the effect of estradiol on HSC-3 cell invasion in spheroid assay.
Estradiol inhibited the migration and invasion of OTSCC cells, whereas DHT had no effect. Our data suggest that MMP8 does not modulate the effect of estradiol in OTSCC cells. However, the sex difference in OTSCC incidence might partly be due to protective actions of estradiol in epithelial cell carcinogenesis.
舌癌在男性中比在女性中更为常见。然而，性激素对口腔舌鳞状细胞癌（OTSCC）行为的影响尚不清楚。基质金属蛋白酶 8（MMP8）在 OTSCC 中表达，并且可以降解雌激素受体（ERs）。
使用 Western blot 检测 OTSCC 细胞系（HSC-3 和 SCC-25）中 ERβ 的水平。我们评估了雌二醇和二氢睾酮（DHT）对 HSC-3 和 SCC-25 细胞迁移、侵袭和活力的影响。使用 3D 球体侵袭测定法研究了雌二醇对 MMP8 过表达（MMP8）和空载体 HSC-3 细胞侵袭的影响。
HSC-3 和 SCC-25 细胞均表达 ERβ。在划痕实验中，雌二醇而非 DHT 减少了 HSC-3 和 SCC-25 细胞的迁移和侵袭。MMP8 HSC-3 细胞的侵袭能力比空载体细胞弱，这与之前的报道一致。然而，MMP8 过表达并未改变雌二醇对球体侵袭实验中 HSC-3 细胞侵袭的影响。
雌二醇抑制 OTSCC 细胞的迁移和侵袭，而 DHT 则没有作用。我们的数据表明，MMP8 不会调节雌二醇对 OTSCC 细胞的作用。然而，OTSCC 发病率的性别差异可能部分归因于雌二醇在上皮细胞癌变中的保护作用。
