title: Telomerase reverse transcriptase potentially promotes the progression of oral squamous cell carcinoma through induction of epithelial-mesenchymal transition.
abstract: In recent years, researchers have found the critical role of telomerase in cellular transformation, proliferation, stemness and cell survival. High levels of telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) expression and telomerase activation have been reported in most cancer cells. Moreover, overexpression of human TERT (hTERT) is reported to be correlated with advanced invasive stage of the tumor progression and poor prognosis. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), characterized by the loss of the cell-cell contact of epithelial cells and the acquisition of migratory and motile properties, is known to be a central mechanism responsible for invasiveness and metastasis of various cancers. Thus, we investigated whether hTERT plays a potential role in the development of EMT. As we expected, our clinical results showed that hTERT is overexpressed in oral epithelial dysplasia (OED) and OSCC tissues and correlates with clinical aggressiveness of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) patients. We then overexpressed hTERT in primary human oral epithelial cells (HOECS) and found that hTERT has the potential to prolong the lifespan, a process confering the characteristics of EMT by activating the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. Our findings provided an explanation for the aggressive nature of human tumors overexpressing hTERT and the possibly mechanism that links hTERT to EMT property, which represents a possible therapeutic target in highly metastatic cancers.
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Stomatology, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Guanghua School of Stomatology, Hospital of Stomatology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Tengda
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Stomatology, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Guanghua School of Stomatology, Hospital of Stomatology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Fengchun
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Qiao
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Nanfang Hospital of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Zhifeng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Stomatology, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Guanghua School of Stomatology, Hospital of Stomatology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Tao
mesh_terms: D015153:Blotting, Western; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D018450:Disease Progression; D058750:Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology*; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering; D000077195:Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck; D019098:Telomerase / Q000378:metabolism*; D014162:Transfection
chemical_list: D034741:RNA, Small Interfering; C509186:TERT protein, human; D019098:Telomerase