Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 16, 2026
Intramucosal Inoculation of Squamous Cell Carcinoma Cells in Mice for Tumor Immune Profiling and Treatment Response Assessment
Published on: April 22, 2019
ALY as a potential contributor to metastasis in human oral squamous cell carcinoma
Yasuhiro Saito1, Atsushi Kasamatsu, Ayumi Yamamoto
1Department of Clinical Molecular Biology, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, 1-8-1 Inohana, Chuo-ku, Chiba 260-8670, Japan.
Purpose:
ALY, an essential mRNA export factor, is dysregulated in a wide variety of human malignancies. However, little is known about the relevance of ALY to oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). The purpose of this study was to investigate ALY expression and its functional mechanisms in OSCCs.
Methods:
ALY mRNA and protein expression in seven OSCC-derived cell lines (Sa3, HO-1-u-1, KON, Ca9-22, HSC-2, HSC-3, and HSC-4) and primary OSCCs were analyzed by quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, immunoblotting, and immunohistochemistry. We evaluated cellular invasiveness, migration, and the expression levels of metastasis modulators, ribosomal RNA processing 1 homolog B (RRP1B) and CD82, in ALY knockdown cells.
Results:
ALY was frequently up-regulated in OSCC-derived cell lines and primary OSCCs compared with normal counterparts at both the mRNA and protein expression levels. ALY-positive expression was correlated significantly (P < 0.05) with a higher risk of regional lymph node metastasis. Furthermore, ALY knockdown cells caused a significant (P < 0.05) decrease in cellular invasiveness and migration with up-regulation of RRP1B and CD82 compared with the control cells.
Conclusion:
Our results showed that ALY is linked to regional lymph node metastasis by regulating cellular invasiveness and migration. Therefore, ALY might be a potential biomarker for early detection of lymph node metastasis in OSCCs.
Related Concept Videos
02:30Metastasis
Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition
The epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition or EMT is a developmental process commonly observed in wound healing, embryogenesis, and cancer metastasis. EMT is induced by transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) or receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) ligands, which further...
02:53Adaptive Mechanisms in Cancer Cells
Some of the advantages that cancer cells have on normal cells include - enhanced ability to divide without terminally differentiating, induce new blood vessel formation,...