目的:明确Hedgehog信号通路关键分子Shh及Gli1在口腔鳞癌中的表达情况,并初步探讨其与口腔鳞癌临床生物学的关系及对预后的影响。方法:采用免疫组织化学方法分别检测35例正常口腔黏膜及35例口腔鳞癌中Shh和Gli1的表达及细胞内定位情况。采用SPSS11.0软件包对Shh、Gli1的表达与口腔鳞癌患者的各项临床病理参数进行非参数统计分析,应用生存表法分析Shh及Gli1的表达水平与口腔鳞癌患者预后的关系。结果:Shh及Gli1在35例正常黏膜中均无表达,在口腔鳞癌组织中Shh的阳性率为60%,Gli1胞质、胞核阳性率分别为54.3%及42.9%,与正常黏膜相比差异显著(P〈0.05)。非参数分析显示,Shh的表达水平与口腔鳞癌患者的肿瘤大小及临床分期显著相关(P〈0.05);生存分析表明,Shh的表达水平与口腔鳞癌患者预后相关,高表达的口腔鳞癌患者预后较差(P〈0.05)。Gli1的表达水平与口腔鳞癌患者预后不相关。结论:Hedgehog信号通路的主要配体Shh及核转录因子Gli1在口腔鳞癌中有不同程度的表达,其中Shh的表达水平与肿瘤大小、临床分期及患者预后明显相关,提示Hedgehog信号通路的异常激活在口腔鳞癌中发挥一定的作用。
PURPOSE: To define the expression of Shh/Gli1, the key elements of Hedgehog signaling pathway in oral squamous cell carcinoma and normal oral mucosa, and to explore the relationship between the expression of Shh/Gli1 and clinical biological parameters. METHODS: The expression of Shh and Gli1 was examined in 35 cases of oral squamous cell carcinoma and 35 cases of normal oral mucosa as control by immunochemistry. SPSS 11.0 software package was used to analyze the relationship between the expression of Shh/Gli1 and prognosis of oral squamous cell carcinoma patients with nonparametric Mann-Whitney test. RESULTS: There was no expression of Shh/Gli1 in normal oral mucosa. The positive rate of Shh and the cytoplasm and nuclear of Gli1 expression was 60%, 54.3% and 42.95%, respectively. Significant dif-ference was found between normal oral mucosa and oral squamous cell carcinoma. Nonparametric Mann-Whitney test showed that the expression of Shh was related to the tumor size and clinical stages(P〈0.05).The life table survival analysis showed that the expression of Shh was related to prognosis of oral squamous cell carcinoma patients. Patients with strong staining generally had poor prognosis. There was no significant relation between the expression of Gli1 and prognosis of oral squamous cell carcinoma. CONCLUSION: Varying expression of the main ligand Shh and transcription factor Gli1 in Hedgehog signaling pathway was found in oral squamous cell carcinoma. The expression of Hedgehog was related to the tumor size ,clinical stage and prognosis, indicating that the aberrant activation of Shh signaling pathway plays somerole in oral squamous cell carcinoma.