BAG-1 expression correlates highly with the malignant potential in early lesions (T1 and T2) of oral squamous cell carcinoma.
BAG-1 is a Bcl-2-binding protein that functions as an anti-apoptotic molecule. In this report we show a possible correlation between BAG-1 expression levels and the probability of oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) progression. We investigated BAG-1 expression levels in 22 patients diagnosed with early lesions (T1 and T2) of oral SCCs using immunohistochemistry and western blotting. High steady-state levels of BAG-1 were detected in 13 out of 22 cases (59%). High BAG-1 expression was observed more frequently in cases with nodal metastasis (89%) than in those without nodal metastasis (38%) (P<0. 03), suggesting that BAG-1 expression levels may correlate with the pathological stage of oral SCCs. Furthermore, BAG-1 expression levels correlated with the WHO grade, i.e. 45% in grade-I cases as opposed to 72% in grade-II cases (P<0.02). These data suggest that an analysis of BAG-1 expression may be useful in establishing a prognosis for patients with oral SCCs, and especially in predicting the metastatic potential of SSCs.
Shindoh
M
M
Department of Oral Pathology, Hokkaido University School of Dentistry, N13 W7, Kita-ku, 060-0813, Sapporo, Japan. mshindoh@den.hokudai.ac.jp
Adachi
M
M
Higashino
F
F
Yasuda
M
M
Hida
K
K
Nishioka
T
T
Ono
M
M
Takayama
S
S
Reed
J C
JC
Imai
K
K
Totsuka
Y
Y
Kohgo
T
T
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017209:Apoptosis; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism*; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D002470:Cell Survival; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D011379:Prognosis; D014157:Transcription Factors
C091732:BCL2-associated athanogene 1 protein; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors