Molecular Pathology, School of Dentistry Universidad de la República (UDELAR), Las Heras 1925, Montevideo 14600, Uruguay.
Department of Research, School of Dentistry, Universidad Juárez del Estado de Durango, Durango 34070, Mexico.
Cells. 2021 Sep 18;10(9):2466. doi: 10.3390/cells10092466.
Tissue architecture and cell morphology suffer profound alterations during oral cancer and are important markers for its progression and outcome. For precise visualization of tissue architecture in oral cancer, we used confocal microscopy to examine the staining pattern of wheat germ agglutinin, a lectin that binds membrane glycoproteins, and the staining patterns of structural proteins.
Paraffin sections of oral squamous cell carcinoma were stained with fluorescently labeled wheat germ agglutinin and with antibodies against structural proteins, which were revealed by immunohistochemistry with tyramide signal amplification.
Membrane localization of wheat germ agglutinin was markedly decreased in the basal layers and in regions of tumor invasion, accompanied by cytoplasmic redistribution of E-cadherin, β-actin and syndecan-1. Wheat germ agglutinin staining clearly identified tumor clusters within the surrounding stroma, and tumor cells with elongated morphology.
Our results suggest that the wheat germ agglutinin staining pattern is indicative of the degree of cell cohesion in oral squamous cell carcinoma, which decreases in basal layers and invasive tumor clusters with more migratory morphologies. Wheat germ agglutinin staining in combination with confocal microscopy could constitute, therefore, a valuable tool for the study of tissue architecture in oral cancer.
口腔癌中组织架构和细胞形态发生了深刻的改变，这些改变是口腔癌进展和预后的重要标志物。为了精确观察口腔癌中的组织架构，我们使用共聚焦显微镜检查了麦胚凝集素（一种与膜糖蛋白结合的凝集素）和结构蛋白的染色模式。
对口腔鳞状细胞癌的石蜡切片进行荧光标记的麦胚凝集素染色和结构蛋白抗体染色，通过辣根过氧化物酶信号放大的免疫组织化学法显色。
在基底细胞层和肿瘤侵袭区域，麦胚凝集素的膜定位明显减少，同时 E-钙黏蛋白、β-肌动蛋白和 syndecan-1 发生细胞质重分布。麦胚凝集素染色清晰地识别出肿瘤簇在周围基质中的位置，以及具有长形形态的肿瘤细胞。
我们的结果表明，麦胚凝集素的染色模式表明口腔鳞状细胞癌中细胞黏附程度的变化，在基底细胞层和具有更迁移形态的侵袭性肿瘤簇中降低。因此，麦胚凝集素染色结合共聚焦显微镜可能成为研究口腔癌组织架构的有用工具。
