Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 24, 2026

A Model for Perineural Invasion in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Published on: January 5, 2017
Overexpression of p27BBP in head and neck carcinomas and their lymph node metastases
Paola Rosso1, Giorgio Cortesina, Francesca Sanvito
1Otolaryngological Clinic II, University of Torino, 10126 Torino, Italy.
Background:
p27(BBP) is a regulator of ribosome assembly and an essential nuclear and cytoplasmic component of eukaryotes.
Methods:
We investigated the immunochemical distribution of p27(BBP) in head and neck carcinomas, in the associated normal mucosa, and in regional lymph nodes.
Results:
p27(BBP) is detectable in mucosal cells but is overexpressed in carcinomas, highly concentrated in large polymorphous nucleoli, and even larger and more evident in lymph node metastatic foci. Western blotting confirms increased p27(BBP) in carcinomas versus normal mucosa and also in metastatic versus normal lymph nodes. The overexpression of p27(BBP) corresponds to mRNA upregulation in carcinomas. Unexpectedly, a 52-kDa band specifically reacting with antibodies to p27(BBP) was observed in several carcinomas.
Conclusions:
p27(BBP) alterations are common events in the transition to malignancy and are probably involved in squamous carcinoma progression. Immune reagents raised to p27(BBP) may provide additional diagnostic tools for surgical pathology of tumor boundaries and lymph nodes. The 52-kDa band may represent an abnormal form of p27(BBP) expressed by transformed airway epithelia.
Related Concept Videos
Abnormal Proliferation
Interactions Between Signaling Pathways
Convergence and divergence, and cross-talk between signaling pathways
Two distinct signaling pathways can converge on a single functional unit, which may either be a single protein or a complex of proteins. The response is either functionally distinct or synergistic between the two pathways but different from the response...
Inhibition of Cdk Activity
The Retinoblastoma Gene
The first-ever tumor suppressor gene called Rb was identified in retinoblastoma - a rare eye tumor in children. In inherited forms of the disease, a child inherits one defective copy of the Rb gene, which predisposes them to retinoblastoma. However,...
