Association of Kaiso and Partner Proteins in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Abstract BackgroundE-cadherin loss liberates associated catenins, including p120 catenin, from adherens junctions. Liberated p120 binds a transcription factor, Kaiso, resulting in aberrant expression of the latter’s target genes, several of which are known oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes; therefore, Kaiso plays a dynamic role in various malignancies; however, its role in oral cancer remains to be investigated.Objectives1. To identify the protein expression and intracellular localization of E-cadherin, p120 catenin, and Kaiso, in oral cancer tissues using Immunohistochemistry2. To study the protein expression of selected Kaiso targets (Cyclin D1 and c-Myc) and to correlate their expression with the expression and localization of Kaiso3. To correlate the expression of the aforementioned proteins with clinicopathological parametersMaterials and Methods:Histological grading was performed using Broder’s criteria. IHC staining was used to study the expression and localization of E-cadherin, p120-catenin, Kaiso, Cyclin D1, and c-Myc. Data was analysed using SPSS version 21. The chi-square test was used to measure the statistical significance of associations, keeping a p-value <0.05 as significant.Results:Out of 47 oral cancer cases, E-cad expression was low in 36%, p120-ctn expression was low in 34%, and Kaiso expression was low in 78% tumor specimens. P120ctn was delocalized from membrane in 80.8% cases. Kaiso was expressed in the cytoplasm of 87% of tumor tissues, whereas 29.7% of cases had negative nuclear Kaiso expression. Kaiso expression was significantly associated with the expression of Cyclin D1 but not with c-Myc.Conclusion:The present study identified a change in the subcellular localization of Kaiso in oral cancer tissues. The important implications of this aberrant localization on oral carcinogenesis and tumour prognosis need to be investigated with further studies using larger sample sizes and more sensitive molecular tools.