APOBEC3B Is Co-Expressed with PKCα/NF-κB in Oral and Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinomas
Galinos Fanourakis,
Efthymios Kyrodimos,
Vasileios Papanikolaou,
Aristeidis Chrysovergis,
Georgia Kafiri,
Nikolaos Papanikolaou,
Mihalis Verykokakis,
Konstantinos Tosios,
Heleni Vastardis
Affiliations
Galinos Fanourakis
Department of Oral Biology, School of Dentistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 2 Thivon Str., 11527 Athens, Greece
Efthymios Kyrodimos
1st ENT Department, Hippokration Hospital, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 114 Vasilissis Sophias Ave., 11527 Athens, Greece
Vasileios Papanikolaou
1st ENT Department, Hippokration Hospital, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 114 Vasilissis Sophias Ave., 11527 Athens, Greece
Aristeidis Chrysovergis
1st ENT Department, Hippokration Hospital, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 114 Vasilissis Sophias Ave., 11527 Athens, Greece
Georgia Kafiri
Department of Pathology, Hippokration Hospital, 114 Vasilissis Sophias Ave., 11527 Athens, Greece
Nikolaos Papanikolaou
EnzyQuest PC, Science and Technology Park of Crete, 100 Nikolaou Plastira Str., Vassilika Vouton, 70013 Heraklion, Greece
Mihalis Verykokakis
Institute for Fundamental Biomedical Research, BSRC Alexander Fleming, 34 Fleming Str., 16672 Vari, Greece
Konstantinos Tosios
Department of Oral Pathology, Medicine and Hospital Dentistry, School of Dentistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 2 Thivon Str., 11527 Athens, Greece
Heleni Vastardis
Department of Orthodontics, School of Dentistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 2 Thivon Str., 11527 Athens, Greece
The enzymatic activity of APOBEC3B (A3B) has been implicated as a prime source of mutagenesis in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). The expression of Protein Kinase C α (PKCα) and Nuclear Factor-κΒ p65 (NF-κΒ p65) has been linked to the activation of the classical and the non-canonical NF-κB signaling pathways, respectively, both of which have been shown to lead to the upregulation of A3B. Accordingly, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the expression of PKCα, NF-κΒ p65 and A3B in non-HPV related oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas (SCC), by means of immunohistochemistry and in silico methods. PKCα was expressed in 29/36 (80%) cases of oral and oropharyngeal SCCs, with 25 (69%) cases showing a PKCα+/A3B+ phenotype and only 6/36 (17%) cases showing a PKCα-/A3B+ phenotype. Εxpression of NF-κB p65 was seen in 33/35 (94%) cases of oral and oropharyngeal SCCs, with 30/35 (86%) cases showing an NF-κB p65+/A3B+ phenotype and only 2/35 (6%) cases showing an NF-κB p65-/A3B+ phenotype. In addition, mRNA expression analysis, using the UALCAN database, revealed strong expression of all three genes. These findings indicate that the expression of A3B is associated with PKCα/NF-κB p65 expression and suggest a potential role for the PKC/NF-κB signaling pathway in the development of oral and oropharyngeal cancer.
