title: Gankyrin, a biomarker for epithelial carcinogenesis, is overexpressed in human oral cancer.
abstract: Little is known about the potential involvement of the oncoprotein gankyrin in human oral cancer progression. In this study, the levels of gankyrin mRNA and protein expression were assessed in human oral epithelial cell lines, at-risk normal oral tissues, premalignant oral lesions, and primary oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCCs).
  
  
  METHODS
  Biopsies included 6 oral epithelial cell lines, 32 OSCC specimens for qRT-PCR analysis, 27 OSCC specimens and 12 premalignant oral lesions for immunohistochemical analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Gankyrin was overexpressed in all tested oral epithelial cell lines and the majority of OSCC specimens (32/32 (100%) and 21/27 (71%) at the mRNA and protein levels, respectively). Moreover, 6/12 of premalignant oral lesions overexpressed gankyrin protein.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Gankyrin overexpression is a prevalent event in human oral cancer and occurs during the early stages of oral carcinogenesis, thus being a viable therapeutic or chemopreventive target in oral cancer.
authors.affiliation: Division of Environmental Health Sciences, College of Public Health, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA. li.225@osu.edu
authors.forename: Junan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Thomas J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Knobloch
authors.forename: Laura A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Kresty
authors.forename: Zhaoxia
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Jas C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Lang
authors.forename: David E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Schuller
authors.forename: Christopher M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Weghorst
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001483:Base Sequence; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic; D017931:DNA Primers; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D046988:Proteasome Endopeptidase Complex / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D017931:DNA Primers; C403591:PSMD10 protein, human; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D046988:Proteasome Endopeptidase Complex