ABSTRACT
Objective@#To detect the expression of nuclear transcription factor OCT-4 in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) and its relationship with CD44, and to explore the relationship between OCT-4 and the cancer stem cells and its significance in tumors.@*Methods@#Sixty-nine specimens of laryngeal surgical resection were selected from LSCC patients from January 2008 to December 2012 in Lanzhou General Hospital of Lanzhou Military Region. Another 18 cases of normal laryngeal mucosa tissues were selected as control. OCT-4, CD44 and OCT-4+ CD44+ cells were observed by using tissue microarray, immunohistochemistry staining and immunohistochemical double staining techniques, and the relationship between their pathological features, such as expression intensity, distribution, cell morphology and clinical parameters were analyzed to explore the clinicopathological significance of CD44+ OCT-4+ cells.@*Results@#The percentage of CD44-positive cells in LSCC was significantly higher than that in normal laryngeal mucosa tissues [(63.62±8.76)% vs. (13.61±5.81)%, P < 0.001]. The percentage of OCT-4-positive cells in LSCC was (50.44±10.84)%, while it was not expressed in normal laryngeal mucosa tissues (P < 0.001). In LSCC, the expression of OCT-4 was significantly lower than that of CD44 (P < 0.001); the coexpression rate of these two molecules was (5.07±2.90)%. The percentage of CD44-positive cells in poorly differentiated LSCC was significantly higher than that in the well-differentiated group [62.78% (8.22%) vs. 28.62% (30.45%), P < 0.05]. The percentage of OCT-4-positive cells in poorly differentiated LSCC was significantly higher than that in the well-differentiated group [49.89% (13.12%) vs. 33.00% (20.00%), P < 0.05]. In the cancer stem cells, the percentage of OCT-4+ CD44+ cells in poorly differentiated carcinoma group was also significantly higher than that in the well-differentiated carcinoma group (P < 0.01), the lower the degree of differentiation, the higher the expression level of OCT-4. In LSCC poorly differentiated group, the expressions of OCT-4 and CD44 showed no significant difference between different T stages, but the percentage of OCT-4+ CD44+ cells elevated with T stage increasing (P < 0.05). The expression of OCT-4 in patients with lymph node metastasis was significantly higher than that in patients without lymph node metastasis (P < 0.01).@*Conclusions@#The expressions of OCT-4 and CD44 are associated with the malignant biological behaviors of LSCC closely. OCT-4 may be a valuable marker of tumor stem cells of LSCC.
ABSTRACT
Stem cell (SC) is a class of initial cells with potential self renewal and differentiation ability.Under certain conditions,it can proliferate and differentiate into various functional ceils.Nucleoprotein Oct-4,Nanog and Sox2 are three major transcription factors,which play central roles in maintaining the pluripotent characteristics and inhibiting SC differentiation.Cancer stem cell(CSC) theory supposed that there is also existing SC-CSC possessing potential self renewal and differentiation abilities in tumor tissues.It is the SC properties of CSC that result in tumor's invasive growth,metastasis and resistance to treatment.Therefore,looking for CSC and determining their markers become an important direction for cancer research.And the introduction of Oct-4,Nanog and Sox2 into CSC research field is undoubtedly the most exciting forefront.