Fukui Rei, Ogisawa Shouhei, Yamada Akiko, Asano Masatake
Department of Pathology, Nihon University School of Dentistry, 1-8-13 Kanda-Surugadai, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-8310, Japan.
Department of Advanced Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Kanagawa Dental University, Yokohama Clinic, 3-31-6 Tsuruya-cho, Kanagawa-ku, Yokohama 221-0835, Kanagawa, Japan.
Cancers (Basel). 2025 Aug 26;17(17):2781. doi: 10.3390/cancers17172781.
BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Interleukin-1 alpha (IL-1α) has been linked to tumor progression in various cancer types; however, its role in oral cancer pathogenesis remains largely unexplored. This study aimed to investigate the clinical significance of IL-1α expression in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), with a specific focus on its role in modulating cancer cell phenotype.
Primary OSCC tissue specimens were collected from 104 patients and subjected to immunohistochemical analysis to assess IL-1α expression. OSCC cell lines were cultured for functional assays, and their protein and mRNA expressions were verified using western blotting and real-time polymerase chain reaction, respectively. The effects of IL-1α expression on OSCC cell proliferation, migration, and gene expression were subsequently examined.
IL-1α expression varied among OSCC tissues and cell lines both in vivo and in vitro. Notably, siRNA-mediated suppression of IL-1α in HSC3 cells impaired migration while leaving proliferation unaffected, highlighting its functional role in promoting cancer cell motility.
Our in vivo and in vitro findings revealed varied IL-1α expression in OSCC and its association with a motile phenotype, suggesting that case-specific IL-1α assessment could hold prognostic value in oral cancer.
背景/目的：白细胞介素-1α（IL-1α）与多种癌症类型的肿瘤进展有关；然而，其在口腔癌发病机制中的作用仍 largely 未被探索。本研究旨在调查 IL-1α 在口腔鳞状细胞癌（OSCC）中的表达的临床意义，特别关注其在调节癌细胞表型中的作用。
从 104 名患者收集原发性 OSCC 组织标本并进行免疫组织化学分析以评估 IL-1α 表达。培养 OSCC 细胞系用于功能测定，其蛋白质和 mRNA 表达分别使用蛋白质印迹法和实时聚合酶链反应进行验证。随后检查 IL-1α 表达对 OSCC 细胞增殖、迁移和基因表达的影响。
体内和体外的 OSCC 组织和细胞系中 IL-1α 表达各不相同。值得注意的是，siRNA 介导的 HSC3 细胞中 IL-1α 的抑制损害了迁移，而增殖未受影响，突出了其在促进癌细胞运动性中的功能作用。
我们的体内和体外研究结果揭示了 OSCC 中不同的 IL-1α 表达及其与运动表型的关联，表明特定病例的 IL-1α 评估在口腔癌中可能具有预后价值。
