Transcript and proteome analysis reveals reduced expression of calgranulins in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

The calcium-binding proteins of the S100 and the annexin protein families have been implicated in a variety of important physiological functions including membrane remodeling, calcium-related intracellular signaling, cytoskeleton dynamics, tissue homeostasis, and formation of the cornified envelope in differentiating keratinocytes. Deregulated expression of members of these families has been reported in different types of neoplasia and other diseases, but the results were not consistent. Here we have applied a combination of cDNA microarrays, quantitative reverse transcriptase-PCR (qRT-PCR) and surface enhanced laser desorption ionisation-time of flight mass spectrometry (SELDI-TOF MS) to study differential expression of these genes in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).

The impact of stromal cell contamination on chemosensitivity testing of head and neck carcinoma.

Background: Reliable chemosensitivity testing of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) still faces methodical limitations. Since stromal cell contamination has been found to preclude reliable radiosensitivity testing of HNSCC as well as chemosensitivity testing of lung tumors, the present study investigates the impact of stromal cell contamination on chemosensitivity testing of HNSCC.

Patients And Methods: Seventeen biopsies from HNSCC were analyzed.

Abrogation of radiation-inducible telomerase upregulation in HPV16 E6 transfectants of human lymphoblasts.

Background: Telomerase activity in a human lymphoblastoid cell line with wild-type p53 status (TK6) was previously shown to be rapidly induced by ionizing radiation doses as low as 10 cGy. Since this low-dose response was absent in a closely related cell line overexpressing a mutant form of p53 (WTK1), the putative involvement of p53 was further investigated using stable human papillomavirus 16 (HPV16) E6 transfectants of these cell lines. The E6 product mediates rapid degradation of wild-type p53, but has also been found to upregulate telomerase.