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The Significance of Phosphorylated Yes-associated Protein (YAP) (Ser 127) Expression in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

  • 0Division of Tumor Pathology, Jichi Medical University, Tochigi, Japan; amano.yusuke@jici.ac.jp.
Anticancer Research +

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August 28, 2025

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August 28, 2025

View abstract on PubMed

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Investigating phosphorylated YAP (pYAP) in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) revealed low cytoplasmic pYAP expression. High pYAP correlates with epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and may indicate aggressive OSCC.

Area Of Science

  • Oncology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Cell Signaling

Background

  • The Hippo signaling pathway, including mammalian sterile 20-like kinase 1/2, large tumor suppressor 1/2, and Yes-associated protein 1 (YAP1), plays a crucial role in cellular regulation.
  • Dysregulation of this pathway is implicated in various cancers, including oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC).

Purpose Of The Study

  • To investigate the expression of phosphorylated YAP (pYAP, Ser 127) in oral epithelial dysplasia (OED), carcinoma in situ (CIS), and OSCC.
  • To determine the correlation between pYAP expression and clinicopathological features, differentiation, and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in OSCC.

Main Methods

  • Analysis of pYAP protein expression in tissue samples from OED (n=7), CIS (n=14), and OSCC (n=109) patients.
  • Assessment of correlations between pYAP levels and tumor differentiation, E-cadherin, vimentin, laminin 5, and protein arginine methyltransferase 1 expression.

Main Results

  • Cytoplasmic pYAP expression was generally low across OED, CIS, and OSCC tissues.
  • Low pYAP expression was more frequent in well-to-moderately differentiated OSCC compared to poorly differentiated OSCC.
  • High pYAP expression was significantly associated with features of EMT, including decreased E-cadherin and increased vimentin and laminin 5 (p<0.0001).
  • Elevated pYAP levels correlated with increased protein arginine methyltransferase 1 expression (p<0.0007).

Conclusions

  • Elevated pYAP expression may serve as a prognostic indicator for aggressive OSCC.
  • The association of high pYAP with EMT suggests its role in the invasive progression of OSCC.

Keywords:

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