title: Transcutaneous carbon dioxide suppresses epithelial-mesenchymal transition in oral squamous cell carcinoma.
abstract: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the most common form of oral cancers. Recent studies have shown that the malignant transformation of various carcinomas, including OSCC, is associated with epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and that expression of the EMT factors are significantly associated with tumor invasion, tumor metastasis, and survival rates in OSCC patients. Hence, there is a possibility that EMT suppression may improve the prognosis of OSCC patients. Hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) is a crucial microenvironmental factor in tumor progression, which induces the expression of EMT factors. We previously reported that transcutaneous CO2 suppresses both human OSCC tumor growth and metastasis to the regional lymph nodes by improving hypoxia in treated tissue. According to this background, we hypothesized that increased EMT with HIF-1α expression may increase the progression and the metastatic potential of OSCC, and that decreased hypoxia by transcutaneous CO2 could suppress EMT. In the present study, in vitro studies showed that hypoxic conditions increased the expression of HIF-1α and EMT factors in OSCC cells. In addition, in vivo studies revealed that transcutaneous CO2 increased E-cadherin expression with the decreased expression of HIF-1α, Snail, Slug, N-cadherin, and Vimentin in tumor treatment. These results suggest that transcutaneous CO2 could suppress EMT by improving hypoxia, resulting in the reduction of metastatic potential of OSCC. The findings indicate that transcutaneous CO2 may be able to improve the prognosis of OSCC patients through the suppression of EMT.
authors: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Japan.
authors: Eiji
authors: E
authors: Iwata
authors: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Japan.
authors: Takumi
authors: T
authors: Hasegawa
authors: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Japan.
authors: Daisuke
authors: D
authors: Takeda
authors: Division of Rehabilitation Medicine, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Japan.
authors: Takeshi
authors: T
authors: Ueha
authors: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Japan.
authors: Teruya
authors: T
authors: Kawamoto
authors: Division of Rehabilitation Medicine, Kobe University Graduate School of Health Sciences, Kobe, Japan.
authors: Toshihiro
authors: T
authors: Akisue
authors: Division of Rehabilitation Medicine, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Japan.
authors: Yoshitada
authors: Y
authors: Sakai
authors: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Japan.
authors: Takahide
authors: T
authors: Komori
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D058750:Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition / Q000187:drug effects; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D051795:Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit / Q000096:biosynthesis; D051379:Mice; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D011379:Prognosis; D023041:Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays
chemical_list: C497442:HIF1A protein, human; D051795:Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; D002245:Carbon Dioxide