Identification of Stathmin in Oral Squamous-Cell Carcinoma Using Microarray

Objectives: nearly 30,000 Americans are diagnosed with oral cancer every year, and approximately 8,000 die as a result. Oral cancer claims more lives than cervical, brain, and skin cancers and Hodgkin's disease. Oral cancer development and malignancy consist of a multi-step process in which altered levels of gene expression in cancer cells lead to sequential activation of oncogenes and inactivation of tumor suppressor genes, allowing them to survive and expand. However, there is limited information available on gene expression profiles in oral cancers, and the diversity of the cancer types makes this a rather complex task.

Methods: we have used Illumina microarray technology to identify molecular targets for oral cancer detection and therapy. We have compared the gene expression levels in two oral squamous cell carcinoma cell lines, to mimic the diversity of oral cancers, and human oral keratinocytes. We aim to extend the number of oral cancer cell types in our future studies. Results: our preliminary results show a plethora of altered gene expressions in cancer cells compared to normal cells. We are currently in the process of identifying statistically significant up- and down-regulated genes. We have thus far identified several genes. Based on literature search, one significantly up-regulated gene, stathmin, stands out. Stathmin is an intracellular protein that is over-expressed in a wide variety of human cancers and plays a critical role in the process of mitosis and other crucial cell signaling pathways. Conclusions: inhibition of Stathmin expression in oral squamous cell carcinomas by pharmacological inhibitors and other molecular approaches (siRNA / shRNA using adenoviral / lentiviral vectors) could disrupt the mitotic apparatus and arrest the growth of malignant cells. Targeting Stathmin in oral cancer might offer a new target for drug or gene therapy in oral cancer. Supported by College of Dentistry, UTHSC.