Abidullah Mohammed, Nahar Prashanth, Ahmed Syed Afroze, Kothari Hemant, Vakeel Sana
Department of Oral Pathology & Microbiology, Pacific Dental College, Pacific Academy of Higher Education and Research University, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India.
Department of Oral Medicine & Radiology, Pacific Dental College, Pacific Academy of Higher Education and Research University, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India.
J Int Soc Prev Community Dent. 2023 Apr 28;13(2):124-132. doi: 10.4103/jispcd.JISPCD_241_22. eCollection 2023 Mar-Apr.
MUCIN4 (MUC4) glycosylation is linked to the oncogenesis and progression of a neoplastic process. It can suggest information pertaining to tumor progression, management and its natural properties. Thus, MUC4 can play a pivotal role in prognostic diagnosis. This study aimed to analyze the MUC4 expression in oral cell squamous carcinoma and oral dysplastic epithelium.
The research included 45 samples of oral epithelial dysplasia (OED) and 45 cases of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). In order to carry out the investigation, tissue blocks of previously diagnosed cases of OED and OSCC were retrieved from the relevant archives. Forty-five OED cases were categorized into three group's mild, moderate and severe dysplasia, with 15 cases in each respective category. Forty-five OSCC cases were categorized into three groups: well differentiated, moderately differentiated, and poorly differentiated OSCC with 15 cases in each respective category. Ten tissue biopsies of normal oral mucosa were obtained from subjects in the control group. The chi-square test and one-way ANOVA were used for statistical analysis.
There was an absence of MUC4 expression in normal mucosa, whereas the OED and OSCC groups had a significant amount of observable variance. Within the OED category of cases, a consistent progression from mild to severe dysplasia was seen in terms of the staining pattern. Cases with severe dysplasia displayed a staining pattern that covered the complete thickness of the tissue in the epithelium. Expression of MUC4 was shown to be lower in moderate differentiated squamous cell carcinoma (MDSCC), and poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma (PDSCC) as compared to well differentiated squamous cell carcinoma (WDSCC). It showed decreasing pattern across all grades of OSCC. In WDSCC, an intense highest staining response was noticed, particularly among the cells that are highly differentiated and take the form of a honeycomb pattern.
Analysis of the expression profile of MUC4 and the aberrant expression of this gene in OSCC suggests that it may serve as a useful diagnostic marker. Therefore, it is possible to draw the conclusion that MUC4 plays a very significant part in the pathogenesis of OSCC and also acts as a marker that may be taken into consideration for the accurate diagnosis of OED and OSCC.
黏蛋白4（MUC4）糖基化与肿瘤发生及肿瘤进程相关。它能够提供有关肿瘤进展、治疗及自然属性的信息。因此，MUC4在预后诊断中可发挥关键作用。本研究旨在分析MUC4在口腔鳞状细胞癌及口腔发育异常上皮中的表达情况。
本研究纳入45例口腔上皮发育异常（OED）样本及45例口腔鳞状细胞癌（OSCC）病例。为开展此项研究，从相关档案中调取先前诊断为OED和OSCC病例的组织块。45例OED病例分为轻度、中度和重度发育异常三组，每组各15例。45例OSCC病例分为三组：高分化、中分化和低分化OSCC，每组各15例。从对照组受试者获取10例正常口腔黏膜组织活检样本。采用卡方检验和单因素方差分析进行统计分析。
正常黏膜中未检测到MUC4表达，而OED组和OSCC组存在显著的可观察到的差异。在OED病例类别中，就染色模式而言，可见从轻度到重度发育异常的一致进展。重度发育异常病例呈现覆盖上皮组织全层的染色模式。与高分化鳞状细胞癌（WDSCC）相比，中分化鳞状细胞癌（MDSCC）和低分化鳞状细胞癌（PDSCC）中MUC4表达较低。在所有OSCC分级中其呈下降趋势。在WDSCC中，观察到强烈的最高染色反应，尤其是在高度分化且呈蜂窝状模式的细胞中。
MUC4表达谱分析及该基因在OSCC中的异常表达表明，它可能是一种有用的诊断标志物。因此，可以得出结论，MUC4在OSCC发病机制中起非常重要的作用，并且可作为在准确诊断OED和OSCC时可考虑的标志物。
