Expression of SOX2 in oral squamous cell carcinoma and the association with lymph node metastasis

Abstract

Abstract. Oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCCs) are a growing problem in the world. The various existing treatments have not markedly improved the survival rate of patients with OSCC during the past three decades. Novel treatment strategies are required. Sex determining region Y-box 2 (SOX2) is a transcription factor that is involved in the maintenance of embryonic stem cell pluripotency and in multiple developmental processes. SOX2 expression was indicated to act as a prognostic factor in various types of tumors, including breast, colorectal, gastric and lung cancer and glioblastoma, and as a link between malignancy and stemness. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) may be responsible for the genesis, growth and metastatic spread of tumors. The poor survival outcomes for OSCC patients may be attributable to a poor selection of target cells for treatment, as current oral cancer therapies are generally aimed at the global mass of tumor. Therefore, the consideration that novel approaches to oral cancer may be targeted using SOX2 and CSCs appears reasonable. In order to better understand the oncogenic roles and the corresponding signal transduction pathways of the SOX2 protein, the present study emphasizes the role of SOX2 in OSCC, including the proteins associated with OSCC, and reviews the literature regarding the role of SOX2 in lymph node metastasis. The aim of the present study is to provide a reference for future studies that engage in research on the aforementioned subject.

Relative Expression of OCT4, SOX2 and NANOG in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Versus Adjacent Non- Tumor Tissue

“…Accordingly, decreased expression of SOX2 is significantly associated with decreased angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis in breast cancer (Chen et al, 2008). Another study on lung cancer indicated the association of SOX2 with lymphatic metastasis (Ren et al, 2016).…”

“…A significant association has been reported between the expression of OCT4, SOX2, and NANOG with the grade of OSCC (Chiou et al, 2008;Vaiphei et al, 2014). OCT4, SOX2 and NANOG are the key transcription factors involved in pluripotency of embryonic stem cells and also regulating the fate of stem cells (Li et al, 2015;Nichols et al, 1998;Ren et al, 2016). Their expression decrease during cells differentiation (Fu et al, 2016;Islam et al, 2015;Ren et al, 2016).…”

“…OCT4, SOX2 and NANOG are the key transcription factors involved in pluripotency of embryonic stem cells and also regulating the fate of stem cells (Li et al, 2015;Nichols et al, 1998;Ren et al, 2016). Their expression decrease during cells differentiation (Fu et al, 2016;Islam et al, 2015;Ren et al, 2016). They are also play critical role in cellular reprogramming of somatic cells.…”

Alkannin restrains oral squamous carcinoma cell growth, migration and invasion by regulating microRNA-9/RECK axis

“…OSCC is the most usual oral tumour, which is prone to metastasis to lymph nodes [22]. The classical treatments have been unable to achieve a satisfactory therapeutic effect.…”

Introduce a New Approach to Detect Genes Associated to Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

“…Genetic alterations, such as the change of gene expressions of tumor suppressor genes and oncogenes, also play important roles in the development of OSCC [5]. A few review articles [6][7][8][9] summarized genetic anomalies associated with OSCC according to the type of structure affected (chromosome, allele, oncogene, tumor suppressor gene, or nucleotide) and the type of anomaly (polymorphism, point mutation, deletion, and other alterations). Many OSCC-associated genes (e.g., TP53, CDKN2A, Cyclin D1, EGFR, SMAD-2, SMAD-4, CDK2AP1, FHIT) have been identified [4,7,8,10].…”