Stromal laminin chain distribution in normal, hyperplastic and malignant oral mucosa: relation to myofibroblast occurrence and vessel formation

Invasion-Associated Reorganization of Laminin 332 in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinomas: The Role of the Laminin γ2 Chain in Tumor Biology, Diagnosis, and Therapy

Simple Summary

The destructive growth of carcinomas is associated with crossing the border between the epithelial and the connective tissue parts of an organ. One component of this borderline, the basement membrane, is the heterotrimeric laminin 332, which mediates the adhesion of basal epithelial cells. This protein, in particular its gamma 2 chain, is fundamentally reorganized during tumor cell invasion. Specific deposition patterns of laminin 332 are also present in oral squamous cell carcinomas and have been shown to be of high diagnostic and predictive value. Furthermore, laminin 332 restructuring is associated with important tumor biological processes, e.g., stromal activation, the development of a motile phenotype, and tumor spreading. In this review, current knowledge in the field is summarized and the recommendation to consider laminin 332 as a promising grading and monitoring parameter and as a potential therapeutic target is discussed.

Abstract

Invasion of the connective tissue by carcinoma cells is accompanied by disintegration and reorganization of the hemidesmosomes, which connect the basement membrane to the basal epithelial cells. In terms of mediating the basement membrane, i.e., basal cell interactions, the heterotrimeric laminin 332 is the most important bridging molecule. Due to this distinct function, laminin 332, especially its gamma 2 chain, came into the focus of cancer research. Specific de novo synthesis and deposition patterns of laminin 332 are evident upon development and progression of oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCCs). Loss from the basement membrane, cytoplasmic accumulation, and extracellular deposition are associated with crucial processes such as stromal activation and immune response, epithelial to mesenchymal transition, and tumor cell budding. In networks with components of the tumor microenvironment, altered expression of laminin 332 chains, proteolytic processing, and interaction with integrin receptors seem to promote cancer cell migration. Indeed, reorganization patterns are shown to have a high diagnostic and prognostic value. Here, we summarize the current knowledge on laminin 332 reorganization in OSCCs with special focus on its gamma 2 chain and provide, based on the current literature, evidence on its promising role as a grading and monitoring parameter and as a potential therapeutic target.

Correlation between serum laminin levels and prognosis of acute myocardial infarction

Background

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is a critical cardiovascular disease (CVD). Laminin (LN) is involved in the process of myocardial fibrosis and ventricular remodeling observed in AMI; however, there are currently no studies on the correlation between LN and AMI prognosis.

Purpose

To explore the predictive value of serum LN levels for major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in patients, 6 months after an acute myocardial infarction.

Methods

A total of 202 AMI patients who were hospitalized in the Department of Cardiology of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University between December 2019 and December 2020 were included. The observation endpoint was the occurrence of MACE. Univariate and multivariate logistic analyses were used to evaluate the relationships between the variables and endpoint. The predictive value of LN for MACE in AMI patients was assessed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis.

Results

A total of 47 patients developed MACE. Univariate logistic analysis showed that smoking, emergency percutaneous coronary intervention (EPCI), age, cardiac troponin I (c-TNI) levels, N-terminal prohormone brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels, and LN levels were associated with the occurrence of MACE (p < 0.05). Multivariate logistic analysis showed that LN was an independent predictor of MACE (odds ratio [OR] = 1.021, 95%CI: 1.014–1.032, p < 0.001). According to the ROC curve, LN can be used as an effective predictor of MACE (AUC = 0.856, 95%CI: 0.794–0.918, p < 0.001). According to the cutoff value, LN>58.80 ng/ml (sensitivity = 83.00%, specificity = 76.80%) or LN>74.15 ng/ml (sensitivity = 76.6%, specificity = 83.2%) indicate a poor prognosis for AMI. Different cut-off values are selected according to the need for higher sensitivity or specificity in clinical applications.

Conclusions

LN may be a predictor of MACE following AMI in patients and could be utilized as a novel substitute marker for the prevention and treatment of AMI.

Epigenetic Regulations of Perineural Invasion in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Carcinomas of the oral cavity and oropharynx belong among the ten most common malignancies in the human population. The prognosis of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is determined by the degree of invasiveness of the primary tumor and by the extent of metastatic spread into regional and distant lymph nodes. Moreover, the level of the perineural invasion itself associates with tumor localization, invasion's extent, and the presence of nodal metastases. Here, we summarize the current knowledge about different aspects of epigenetic changes, which can be associated with HNSCC while focusing on perineural invasion (PNI). We review epigenetic modifications of the genes involved in the PNI process in HNSCC from the omics perspective and specific epigenetic modifications in OSCC or other neurotropic cancers associated with perineural invasion. Moreover, we summarize DNA methylation status of tumor-suppressor genes, methylation and demethylation enzymes and histone post-translational modifications associated with PNI. The influence of other epigenetic factors on the HNSCC incidence and perineural invasion such as tobacco, alcohol and oral microbiome is overviewed and HPV infection is discussed as an epigenetic factor associated with OSCC and related perineural invasion. Understanding epigenetic regulations of axon growth that lead to tumorous spread or uncovering the molecular control of axon interaction with cancer tissue can help to discover new therapeutic targets for these tumors.

hsa‑miR‑5580‑3p inhibits oral cancer cell viability, proliferation and migration by suppressing LAMC2

The present study aimed to explore whether and how microRNA-5580-3p (miR-5580-3p) affected oral cancer (OC) cell phenotypes via regulation of laminin subunit γ2 (LAMC2). Bioinformatics analysis was used to identify miR-5580-3p/LAMC2, a novel interactome that, to the best of our knowledge, has not been studied previously in OC. In the present study, the expression levels of miR-5580-3p and LAMC2 were detected by reverse transcription-quantitative PCR, while the protein expression levels of LAMC2 were identified using western blotting. To determine the effects of miR-5580-3p and LAMC2 in OC, a number of experiments, including Cell Counting Kit-8, 5-bromo-2′-deoxyuridine cell proliferation and wound healing migration assays, were performed using OC SCC-4 and Cal-27 cell lines. Additionally, luciferase reporter assays were employed to examine the interaction between miR-5580-3p and LAMC2 mRNA. The results demonstrated that miR-5580-3p expression was downregulated, while LAMC2 expression was upregulated in OC tissues and cell lines. In addition to the observation that miR-5580-3p promoted the malignant phenotypes of OC, it was also revealed that miR-5580-3p inhibited OC cell viability, proliferation and migration by suppressing LAMC2. Therefore, the present study suggested that miR-5580-3p and LAMC2 may be potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets for OC diagnosis and therapies in the future.

CD146, from a melanoma cell adhesion molecule to a signaling receptor

CD146 was originally identified as a melanoma cell adhesion molecule (MCAM) and highly expressed in many tumors and endothelial cells. However, the evidence that CD146 acts as an adhesion molecule to mediate a homophilic adhesion through the direct interactions between CD146 and itself is still lacking. Recent evidence revealed that CD146 is not merely an adhesion molecule, but also a cellular surface receptor of miscellaneous ligands, including some growth factors and extracellular matrixes. Through the bidirectional interactions with its ligands, CD146 is actively involved in numerous physiological and pathological processes of cells. Overexpression of CD146 can be observed in most of malignancies and is implicated in nearly every step of the development and progression of cancers, especially vascular and lymphatic metastasis. Thus, immunotherapy against CD146 would provide a promising strategy to inhibit metastasis, which accounts for the majority of cancer-associated deaths. Therefore, to deepen the understanding of CD146, we review the reports describing the newly identified ligands of CD146 and discuss the implications of these findings in establishing novel strategies for cancer therapy.

The Tumor Microenvironment: Focus on Extracellular Matrix

The extracellular matrix (ECM) regulates the development and maintains tissue homeostasis. The ECM is composed of a complex network of molecules presenting distinct biochemical properties to regulate cell growth, survival, motility, and differentiation. Among their components, proteoglycans (PGs) are considered one of the main components of ECM. Its composition, biomechanics, and anisotropy are exquisitely tuned to reflect the physiological state of the tissue. The loss of ECM's homeostasis is seen as one of the hallmarks of cancer and, typically, defines transitional events in tumor progression and metastasis. In this chapter, we discuss the types of proteoglycans and their roles in cancer. It has been observed that the amount of some ECM components is increased, while others are decreased, depending on the type of tumor. However, both conditions corroborate with tumor progression and malignancy. Therefore, ECM components have an increasingly important role in carcinogenesis and this leads us to believe that their understanding may be a key in the discovery of new anti-tumor therapies. In this book, the main ECM components will be discussed in more detail in each chapter.

Highly sensitive detection of invasive lung cancer cells by novel antibody against amino-terminal domain of laminin γ2 chain

The laminin γ2 chain, a subunit of laminin-332 (α3β3γ2), is a molecular marker for invasive cancer cells, but its pathological roles in tumor progression remain to be clarified. It was recently found that the most N-terminal, domain V (dV) of γ2 chain has activities to bind CD44 and stimulate tumor cell migration and vascular permeability. In the present study, we prepared a mAb recognizing γ2 dV. Immunoblotting with this antibody, for the first time, showed that proteolytic fragments containing dV in a range of 15-80 kDa were highly produced in various human cancer cell lines and lung cancer tissues. In immunohistochemistry of adenocarcinomas and squamous cell carcinomas of the lung, this antibody immunostained the cytoplasm of invasive tumor cells and adjacent stroma much more strongly than a widely used antibody recognizing the C-terminal core part of the processed γ2 chain. This suggests that the dV fragments are highly accumulated in tumor cells and stroma compared to the processed γ2 protein. The strong tumor cell staining with the dV antibody correlated with the tumor malignancy grade. We also found that the laminin β3 and α3 chains were frequently overexpressed in tumor cells and tumor stroma, respectively. The cytoplasmic dV detection was especially prominent in tumor cells infiltrating stroma, but low in the cells surrounded by basement membranes, suggesting that the active tumor-stroma interaction is critical for the aberrant γ2 expression. The present study suggests important roles of laminin γ2 N-terminal fragments in tumor progression.

Evaluation of Role of Myofibroblasts in Oral Cancer: A Systematic Review

Aim

To conduct a systematic review on the role of myofibroblasts in progression of oral cancer. The myofibroblast is essential for the integrity of the mammalian body by virtue of its role in wound healing, but it also plays a negative role due to their role in promoting tumor development.

Settings and design

Systematic review.

Materials and methods

Bibliographic searches were conducted in several electronic databases using all publications in PubMed, PubMed central, EMBASE, CancerLit, Google scholar, and Cochrane CCTR between 1990 and June 2015.

Results

The search of all publications from various electronic databases revealed 1,371 citations. The total number of studies considered for systematic review was 43. The total number of patients included in the studies was 990.

Conclusion

Myofibroblasts are a significant component in stroma of oral cancer cases, though not identified in all cases. This systematic review shows that clinical, pathological, and immunohistochemistry tests have correlated the presence of high myofibroblast count in oral cancer cell stroma.

Key Messages

Myofibroblasts play a significant role in oral cancer invasion and progression. Various studies have demonstrated their association with oral cancer. This review tends to highlight their role in the pathogenesis of oral cancer over the decade.

How to cite this article

Sekhon HK, Sircar K, Kaur G, Marwah M. Evaluation of Role of Myofibroblasts in Oral Cancer: A Systematic Review. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2016;9(3):233-239.

Parameters of Stromal Activation and Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition as Predictive Biomarkers for Induction Chemotherapy in Patients With Locally Advanced Oral Cavity and Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Cancer

Objectives

Induction chemotherapy (IC) is likely to be effective for biologically distinct subgroups of oral cancer and biomarker development may lead to identification of those patients.

Methods

We evaluated immune cell infiltration, stroma formation and structure of the invasive front as well as the immunohistochemical expression of alpha smooth muscle actin (ASMA), CD163, E-cadherin, N-cadherin, and the laminin gamma 2 chain in pretreatment biopsy specimens and surgical resections after IC in 20 patients with locally advanced oral cancer who were treated in a prospective, ongoing, phase II trial on IC using docetaxel, cisplatin, and 5-fluorouracil (TPF).

Results

Significant negative prognostic factors for incomplete pathological tumor response to IC were alcohol abuse (P=0.032), cN+ (P=0.042), and <30% tumor reduction after first cycle of IC (P=0.034). Of the investigated histological parameters and biomarkers only a low membrane-bound expression of E-cadherin showed a trend to be associated with incomplete response to IC (P=0.061). Low expression of ASMA in stromal vessels and a strong tumor invasion front were significantly associated to tumor recurrence (P=0.024 and P=0.004, respectively). The median follow-up of all patients was 35 months. Alcohol abuse (P<0.001), <30% tumor reduction after first cycle of IC (P=0.005), and a strong tumor invasion front (P=0.019) were negative prognostic factors for overall survival.

Conclusion

A strong predictive biomarker among the investigated parameters for benefitting from TPF IC could not be found. The extent of the tumor invasion front was a negative prognostic marker for recurrence and survival in oral cancer treated by TPF IC followed by surgery and postoperative radiochemotherapy.

PDGFRβ Is a Novel Marker of Stromal Activation in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinomas

Carcinoma associated fibroblasts (CAFs) form the main constituents of tumor stroma and play an important role in tumor growth and invasion. The presence of CAFs is a strong predictor of poor prognosis of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Despite significant progress in determining the role of CAFs in tumor progression, the mechanisms contributing to their activation remain poorly characterized, in part due to fibroblast heterogeneity and the scarcity of reliable fibroblast surface markers. To search for such markers in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), we applied a novel approach that uses RNA-sequencing data derived from the cancer genome atlas (TCGA). Specifically, our strategy allowed for an unbiased identification of genes whose expression was closely associated with a set of bona fide stroma-specific transcripts, namely the interstitial collagens COL1A1, COL1A2, and COL3A1. Among the top hits were genes involved in cellular matrix remodeling and tumor invasion and migration, including platelet-derived growth factor receptor beta (PDGFRβ), which was found to be the highest-ranking receptor protein genome-wide. Similar analyses performed on ten additional TCGA cancer datasets revealed that other tumor types shared CAF markers with OSCC, including PDGFRβ, which was found to significantly correlate with the reference collagen expression in ten of the 11 cancer types tested. Subsequent immunostaining of OSCC specimens demonstrated that PDGFRβ was abundantly expressed in stromal fibroblasts of all tested cases (12/12), while it was absent in tumor cells, with greater specificity than other known markers such as alpha smooth muscle actin or podoplanin (3/11). Overall, this study identified PDGFRβ as a novel marker of stromal activation in OSCC, and further characterized a list of promising candidate CAF markers that may be relevant to other carcinomas. Our novel approach provides for a fast and accurate method to identify CAF markers without the need for large-scale immunostaining experiments.

Skin basement membrane: the foundation of epidermal integrity--BM functions and diverse roles of bridging molecules nidogen and perlecan

The epidermis functions in skin as first defense line or barrier against environmental impacts, resting on extracellular matrix (ECM) of the dermis underneath. Both compartments are connected by the basement membrane (BM), composed of a set of distinct glycoproteins and proteoglycans. Herein we are reviewing molecular aspects of BM structure, composition, and function regarding not only (i) the dermoepidermal interface but also (ii) the resident microvasculature, primarily focusing on the per se nonscaffold forming components perlecan and nidogen-1 and nidogen-2. Depletion or functional deficiencies of any BM component are lethal at some stage of development or around birth, though BM defects vary between organs and tissues. Lethality problems were overcome by developmental stage- and skin-specific gene targeting or by cell grafting and organotypic (3D) cocultures of normal or defective cells, which allows recapitulating BM formation de novo. Thus, evidence is accumulating that BM assembly and turnover rely on mechanical properties and composition of the adjacent ECM and the dynamics of molecular assembly, including further "minor" local components, nidogens largely functioning as catalysts or molecular adaptors and perlecan as bridging stabilizer. Collectively, orchestration of BM assembly, remodeling, and the role of individual players herein are determined by the developmental, tissue-specific, or functional context.

Laminin-511: a multi-functional adhesion protein regulating cell migration, tumor invasion and metastasis

Laminins are major constituents of basement membranes. At least 16 isoforms have now been described, each with distinct spatio-temporal expression patterns and functions. The laminin-511 heterotrimer (α5β1γ1) is one of the more recent isoforms to be identified and a potent adhesive and pro-migratory substrate for a variety of normal and tumor cell lines in vitro. As our understanding of its precise function in normal tissues and in pathologies is rapidly unraveling, current evidence suggests an important regulatory role in cancer. This review describes published data on laminin-511 expression in several malignancies and experimental evidence from both in vitro and in vivo studies supporting its functional role during tumor progression. A particular emphasis is put on more recent studies from our laboratory and that of others indicating that laminin-511 contributes to tumor dissemination and metastasis in advanced breast carcinomas and other tumor types. Collectively, the experimental evidence suggests that high expression of laminin-511 has prognostic significance and that targeting tumor-laminin-511 interactions may have therapeutic potential in advanced cancer patients.