Generation of a tissue-specific transgenic model for K8 phosphomutants: A tool to investigate the role of K8 phosphorylation during skin carcinogenesis in vivo.

Keratin 8/18, the predominant keratin pair of simple epithelia, is known to be aberrantly expressed in several squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs), where its expression is often correlated with increased invasion, neoplastic progression, and poor prognosis. The majority of keratin 8/18 structural and regulatory functions are governed by posttranslational modifications, particularly phosphorylation. Apart from filament reorganization, cellular processes including cell cycle, cell growth, cellular stress, and apoptosis are known to be orchestrated by K8 phosphorylation at specific residues in the head and tail domains.

Role of Electron Microscopy in Early Detection of Altered Epithelium During Experimental Oral Carcinogenesis.

Early detection of altered epithelium can help in controlling the further progression by timely intervention. Alterations in cellular adhesion are one of the hallmarks of cancer progression, which can be detected at the intracellular level using high-resolution electron microscopy. This study aimed to evaluate the role of electron microscopy in the establishment of ultrastructural markers for early detection of altered epithelium using tissues from 4-Nitroquinoline-1-Oxide (4NQO) induced rat tongue carcinogenesis.

Alterations in desmosomal adhesion at protein and ultrastructure levels during the sequential progressive grades of human oral tumorigenesis.

With the aim of developing early diagnostic/prognostic markers for oral cancer, desmosomal adhesion in sequentially progressive grades of tissues from oral normal/disorders (normal, hyperplastic, dysplastic, non-metastatic/metastatic tumours, and metastatic nodes) was investigated at protein and ultrastructural levels using immunohistochemistry and transmission electron microscopy, respectively. The expression of desmosomal proteins was higher in hyperplastic tissues than in normal tissues but was significantly decreased in subsequent progressive stages of the disease. Altered expression of desmosomal proteins was significantly correlated with local recurrence and disease-free survival.

Prognostic significance of elevated serum CD44 levels in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: Availability of reliable methods distinguishing high-risk recurrent tumours from regressive tumours prior to surgery could help in better management of the disease. This study was aimed to estimate pre-surgical serum CD44 concentration and assess the possibility of using it as a non-invasive prognostic tool in oral cancer.

Methods: ELISA was performed on pre-surgical serum samples from 64 primary oral cancer patients and 16 healthy individuals to estimate soluble CD44 levels.

Depletion of keratin 8/18 modulates oncogenic potential by governing multiple signaling pathways.

Unlabelled: Keratin 8/18, the predominant keratin pair of simple epithelia, is often aberrantly expressed in various squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) including skin SCC. Its aberrant expression is correlated with increased invasiveness and poor prognosis of the same, although the underlying mechanism is still unclear. A previous report from our laboratory has shown K8-mediated regulation of α6β4 integrin signaling and thereby tumorigenic potential of oral SCC-derived cells.