title: C4.4A as a biomarker of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and correlated with epithelial mesenchymal transition.
abstract: C4.4A, a member of the Ly6/uPAR family of membrane proteins, has been identified as a metastasis-associated molecule, but little is known about its actual expression and possible function in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). To explore diagnostic and prognostic roles of C4.4A in HNSCC, we investigated the expression of C4.4A in human HNSCC tissue array which contains 43 HNSCC, 6 epithelial dysplasia and 16 normal oral mucosa. Expression of C4.4A was significantly increased in epithelial dysplasia and HNSCC when compared with normal oral mucosa. Moreover, high C4.4A expression indicated a rather poor prognosis of HNSCC patients. To better understand the function of C4.4A in HNSCC progression, we investigated epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) associated proteins including transforming growth factor (TGF-β1), Slug and CD147 in HNSCC. The expression of TGF-β1, Slug, and CD147 was significantly increased in HNSCC when compared with normal oral mucosa. Meanwhile, the expression of C4.4A was significantly correlated with TGF-β1, Slug, and CD147 in HNSCC tissue array. Furthermore, knockdown of C4.4A decreased the cell invasion and migration in CAL27 cell line and suppressed the EMT with increased E-cadherin and decreased N-cadherin and Slug. Our study demonstrated that C4.4A was a potential marker for prognosis of HNSCC, and C4.4A participated in EMT program in HNSCC progression.
authors.affiliation: The State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Basic Science of Stomatology & Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedicine Ministry of Education, School & Hospital of Stomatology, Wuhan UniversityWuhan 430079, China; Department of Oral and Maxillofacial-Head and Neck Oncology, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Wuhan UniversityWuhan 430079, China.
authors.forename: Jian-Feng
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: The State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Basic Science of Stomatology & Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedicine Ministry of Education, School & Hospital of Stomatology, Wuhan UniversityWuhan 430079, China; Department of Oral and Maxillofacial-Head and Neck Oncology, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Wuhan UniversityWuhan 430079, China.
authors.forename: Liang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mao
authors.affiliation: The State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Basic Science of Stomatology & Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedicine Ministry of Education, School & Hospital of Stomatology, Wuhan University Wuhan 430079, China.
authors.forename: Lin-Lin
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Bu
authors.affiliation: The State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Basic Science of Stomatology & Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedicine Ministry of Education, School & Hospital of Stomatology, Wuhan University Wuhan 430079, China.
authors.forename: Si-Rui
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: The State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Basic Science of Stomatology & Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedicine Ministry of Education, School & Hospital of Stomatology, Wuhan University Wuhan 430079, China.
authors.forename: Cong-Fa
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial-Head and Neck Oncology, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Wuhan University Wuhan 430079, China.
authors.forename: Wen-Feng
authors.initials: WF
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: The State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Basic Science of Stomatology & Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedicine Ministry of Education, School & Hospital of Stomatology, Wuhan UniversityWuhan 430079, China; Department of Oral and Maxillofacial-Head and Neck Oncology, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Wuhan UniversityWuhan 430079, China.
authors.forename: Zhi-Jun
authors.initials: ZJ
authors.lastname: Sun
keywords: C4.4A; CD147; EMT; TGF-β1; head and neck squamous cell carcinoma; slug