IFITM3 knockdown reduces the expression of CCND1 and CDK4 and suppresses the growth of oral squamous cell carcinoma cells.

PURPOSE: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a challenging disease to treat. Up to 50% of OSCC patients with advanced disease develop recurrences. Elucidation of key molecular mechanisms underlying OSCC development may provide opportunities to target specific genes and, thus, to improve patient survival. In this study, we examined the expression and functional role of interferon transmembrane protein 3 (IFITM3) in OSCC development. METHODS: The expression of IFITM3 in OSCC and normal oral mucosal tissues was assessed by qRT-PCR and immunohistochemistry. The role of IFITM3 in driving OSCC cell proliferation and survival was examined using siRNA-mediated gene knockdown, and the role of IFITM3 in driving cell cycle regulators was examined using Western blotting. RESULTS: We found that IFITM3 is overexpressed in more than 79% of primary OSCCs. We also found that IFITM3 knockdown led to impaired OSCC cell growth through inhibition of cell proliferation, induction of cell cycle arrest, senescence and apoptosis. In addition, we found that IFITM3 knockdown led to reduced expressions of CCND1 and CDK4 and reduced RB phosphorylation, leading to inhibition of OSCC cell growth. This information may be instrumental for the design of novel targeted therapeutic strategies. CONCLUSIONS: From our data we conclude that IFITM3 is overexpressed in OSCC and may regulate the CCND1-CDK4/6-pRB axis to mediate OSCC cell growth.

Genetically-defined novel oral squamous cell carcinoma cell lines for the development of molecular therapies.

Emerging biological and translational insights from large sequencing efforts underscore the need for genetically-relevant cell lines to study the relationships between genomic alterations of tumors, and therapeutic dependencies. Here, we report a detailed characterization of a novel panel of clinically annotated oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) cell lines, derived from patients with diverse ethnicity and risk habits. Molecular analysis by RNAseq and copy number alterations (CNA) identified that the cell lines harbour CNA that have been previously reported in OSCC, for example focal amplications in 3q, 7p, 8q, 11q, 20q and deletions in 3p, 5q, 8p, 18q. Similarly, our analysis identified the same cohort of frequently mutated genes previously reported in OSCC including TP53, CDKN2A, EPHA2, FAT1, NOTCH1, CASP8 and PIK3CA. Notably, we identified mutations (MLL4, USP9X, ARID2) in cell lines derived from betel quid users that may be associated with this specific risk factor. Gene expression profiles of the ORL lines also aligned with those reported for OSCC. By focusing on those gene expression signatures that are predictive of chemotherapeutic response, we observed that the ORL lines broadly clustered into three groups (cell cycle, xenobiotic metabolism, others). The ORL lines noted to be enriched in cell cycle genes responded preferentially to the CDK1 inhibitor RO3306, by MTT cell viability assay. Overall, our in-depth characterization of clinically annotated ORL lines provides new insight into the molecular alterations synonymous with OSCC, which can facilitate in the identification of biomarkers that can be used to guide diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of OSCC.

Novel MDM2 splice variants identified from oral squamous cell carcinoma.

INTRODUCTION: The presence of a variety of MDM2 splice variants has been reported in a range of different tumor types and is associated with poor patient prognosis. Furthermore, several MDM2 variants have been shown to have oncogenic properties. Despite this, MDM2 splice variants have not been comprehensively characterized in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: MDM2 splice variants were identified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), using cDNA from 55 OSCC and 20 normal oral mucosa (NOM) tissues. MDM2 amplicons from the polymerase chain reactions were cloned and sequenced. The associations between the presence of MDM2 splice variants as well as the types of MDM2 splice variants with OSCC and patient clinico-pathological data was examined using Fisher Exact and Chi-square tests. RESULTS: Thirty-eight MDM2 splice variants were identified from both OSCC and NOM tissues, where the majority (30/38) were exclusively detected in OSCC. Some of these variants were similar to those reported in other cancers whilst 14 novel MDM2 splice variants predicted to code for proteins were also identified. The majority of these variants retained their RING binding domain but had lost the p53 binding site. The presence of MDM2 splice variants was significantly associated with OSCC and increased the risk of OSCC development (OR=9.98; 95% CI=2.94-33.90). CONCLUSION: MDM2 splice variants were identified in OSCC at a high frequency and were significantly associated with OSCC development. This suggests that MDM2 splice variants may play an important role in oral carcinogenesis and the functional role of these variants in OSCC should be examined further.

Burkholderia pseudomallei animal and human isolates from Malaysia exhibit different phenotypic characteristics.

Burkholderia pseudomallei is a Gram-negative saprophytic soil bacterium, which is the etiologic agent of melioidosis, a severe and fatal infectious disease occurring in human and animals. Distinct clinical and animal isolates have been shown to exhibit differences in phenotypic trait such as growth rate, colony morphology, antimicrobial resistance, and virulence. This study was carried out to gain insight into the intrinsic differences between 4 clinical and 6 animal B. pseudomallei isolates from Malaysia. The 16S rRNA-encoding genes from these 10 isolates of B. pseudomallei were sequenced to confirm the identity of these isolates along with the avirulent Burkholderia thailandensis. The nucleotide sequences indicated that the 16S rRNA-encoding genes among the 10 B. pseudomallei isolates were identical to each other. However, the nucleotide sequence differences in the 16S rRNA-encoding genes appeared to be B. pseudomallei and B. thailandensis specific. The growth rate of all B. pseudomallei isolates was determined by generating growth curves at 37 degrees C for 72 h. The isolates were found to differ in growth rates with doubling time varying from 1.5 to 2.3 h. In addition, the B. pseudomallei isolates exhibited considerable variation in colony morphology when grown on Ashdown media, brain-heart infusion agar, and Luria-Bertani agar over 9 days of observation. Antimicrobial susceptibility tests indicated that 80% of the isolates examined were Amp(R) Cb(R) Kn(R) Gm(R) Chl(S) Te(S). Virulence of the B. pseudomallei clinical and animal isolates was evaluated in B. pseudomallei-susceptible BALB/c mice. Most of the clinical isolates were highly virulent. However, virulence did not correlate with isolate origin since 2 of the animal isolates were also highly virulent.