Expression of vascular endothelial-cadherin in mucoepidermoid carcinoma: Role in cancer development

Abstract

Objectives:Mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) accounts for 35% of all malignant salivary gland tumors. Previous investigations have shown that vasculogenic mimicry (VM) exists in many cancers which can be used as a prognostic factor of poor prognosis. Elevated expression level of vascular endothelial (VE)-cadherin has been implicated in cancer neovascularization, growth, and progression. The current study aimed to study the presence of VE-cadherin in VM channels and tumor cells in different grades of MEC.Materials and Methods:A total of 63 MEC samples (21 samples in each grade) were collected from the archive of pathology department of Besat Educational Hospital, Hamadan, Iran, from 2002 to 2016. Hematoxylin and eosin staining was performed to confirm the previous diagnosis. The specimens were then processed for immunohistochemistry analysis. Then, periodic acid–Schiff staining was performed. Analyses were conducted through SPSS software version 22.0 (SPSS, Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). Chi-square test was used to examine the differences between categorical variables. Significance level was set at 0.05. Pearson's correlation was used to assess the co-localization of the marker.Results:A total of 63 samples (35 men; 55.6%, and 28 women; 44.4%) were used for immunohistochemical study. There were statistically significant differences between tumor grade and the expression levels of VE-cadherin (P = 0.000), between tumor grade and VM formation (P = 0.000), and also between tumor grade and microvessel density (MVD) (P = 0.000). Additionally, there was a strong positive correlation between tumor grade and VE-cadherin expression level (Pearson's r = 0.875, P < 0.000).Conclusions:Our results may disclose a definite relationship between VE-cadherin expression level, VM, epithelial–mesenchymal transition, cancer stem cells, and MVD in MEC samples. Thus, it is reasonable to suggest that VE-cadherin is related to angiogenesis and VM formation in MECs.

The expression and functional significance of vascular endothelial-cadherin, CD44, and vimentin in oral squamous cell carcinoma

“…[ 9 ] In addition, the elevated expression level of VE-cadherin is associated with the cancer growth and progression. [ 16 ] Besides, VE-cadherin is expressed by CSCs and is associated with VM. [ 34 35 ] A study on aggressive melanoma indicated the high expression level of VE-cadherin by cancer cells.…”

“…The abundance of positive cells for biomarkers was graded as follows: 1 (weak) for <20% positive cells, 2 (moderate) for 20%–50% positive cells, and 3 (strong) for >50% positive cells. [ 16 ]…”

“…[ 14 ] Overexpression level of VE-cadherin enhances the cancer neovascularization, growth, and progression. [ 15 16 ]…”

“…Vimentin, a mesenchymal marker, plays a crucial role in EMT. [ 16 27 ] In some cancers such as esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, the increased expression level of vimentin is associated with a higher incidence of lymph node metastasis. [ 28 29 ] Recently, studies have shown that CSC and EMT enhance VM formation through stimulating cancer cell plasticity, remodeling the extracellular matrix, and connecting VM channels with host blood vessels,[ 30 ] but the regulatory mechanism is still unclear.…”

Endocan Expression Profile in Different Grades of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

“…Tumor growth and metastasis are correlated to the function and the altered expression level of many proteins, as well as gene mutations (5,8,(22)(23)(24). In addition, cancer cell invasion and metastasis are correlated to the level of cancer cell differentiation.…”