ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>The main goal is to investigate the role of P120-catenin (P120ctn) in cadherin switching, as well as migration and invasion, of oral squamous cell cancer (OSCC) cells.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The plasmid pGFP-V-RS-P120ctn shRNA was used to transfect TSCCA cells and significantly reduce the expression of P120ctn in these cells. Real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Western blot were conducted to determine the mRNA and protein expression levels of P120ctn, E-cadherin (E-cad), and N-cadherin (N-cad). By contrast, the Transwell cell invasion and cell migration assay was used to determine the invasion and migration capacities before and after the transfection.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>After the plasmid pGFP-V-RS-P120ctn shRNA was transfected into the TSCCA cells, we found that as the P120ctn expression significantly decreased, E-cad mRNA and protein expression decreased significantly. Moreover, N-cad mRNA and protein expression increased significantly (P<0.05). Lastly, the cell migration and invasion capacities were augmented significantly (P<0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>In OSCC cells, P120ctn may be involved in cadherin switching and promote metastasis and invasion.</p>