Differential expression of Cadherins switch and Caveolin-2 during stages of oral carcinogenesis

Rebeca B Nascimento; Isadora A R Machado; Jamerson C Silva; Lorena A S Faria; Fernanda C Borba; Lia P A Porto; Jean N Santos; Luciana M P Ramalho; Camila O Rodini; Maria Fernanda S D Rodrigues; Katiúcia B S Paiva; Flávia C A Xavier

doi:10.4103/jomfp.jomfp_28_23

Differential expression of Cadherins switch and Caveolin-2 during stages of oral carcinogenesis

J Oral Maxillofac Pathol. 2023 Jul-Sep;27(3):507-514. doi: 10.4103/jomfp.jomfp_28_23. Epub 2023 Sep 12.

Affiliations

¹ PhD in Dentistry and Health, Department of Propaedeutics and Integrated Clinical, School of Dentistry, Federal University of Bahia, Salvador, Brazil.
² PhD Student in Dentistry and Health Postgraduated Program, Department of Propaedeutics and Integrated Clinical, School of Dentistry, Federal University of Bahia, Recife, PE, Brazil.
³ DDS, Department of Propaedeutics and Integrated Clinical, School of Dentistry, Federal University of Bahia, Salvador, Brazil.
⁴ PhD in Dentistry, Health Sciences Center, School of Dentistry, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, PE, Brazil.
⁵ PhD Professor, Surgical Pathology Laboratory, Department of Propaedeutics and Integrated Clinical, School of Dentistry, Federal University of Bahia, Salvador, BA, Brazil.
⁶ PhD Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, School of Dentistry, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
⁷ PhD Professor, Biophotonics Applied to Health Sciences Postgraduated Program, University of the Ninth of July, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
⁸ PhD Professor, Extracellular Matrix Biology and Cellular Interaction Laboratory, Department of Anatomy, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.

Abstract

Background: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) accounts for 90% of oral malignancies, which may be preceded by oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMDs). Cancer progression involves the downregulation of epithelial markers (E-cadherin) and the upregulation of mesenchymal markers (N-cadherin), which together characterise the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Furthermore, caveolin can act on cell adhesion and migration events that regulate the expression of the E-cadherin/α-β-catenin complex, thus favouring aggressive biological behaviour. This study aimed to analyse the immunoexpression of E-cadherin, N-cadherin and caveolin-2 at different stages of oral carcinogenesis to identify reliable biomarkers to predict malignant potential.

Methods: Expressions of E-cadherin and N-cadherin in 14 normal oral mucosae (NOM), 14 OPMD and 33 OSCC specimens were evaluated using immunohistochemistry. Clinicopathological parameters were also assessed.

Results: E-cadherin immunoexpression was significantly reduced during the progression of oral carcinogenesis (P = 0.0018). N-cadherin immunoexpression did not show any statistical differences between these groups. However, a representative number of N-cadherin-positive OSCC cases did not express E-cadherin. The expression of caveolin-2 increased significantly with the progression of the disease, from NOM to OSCC (P value: 0.0028).

Conclusion: These findings indicate that cadherin switch and caveolin-2 immunoexpression may be regulatory events in oral carcinogenesis.

Keywords: Cadherins; caveolin-2; immunohistochemistry; oral squamous cell carcinoma.