Quantitative analysis of KLF4 and SOX2 expression in oral carcinomas reveals independent association with oral tongue subsite location and histological grade
Affiliations: [a] School of Dentistry, Oral Pathology Department, Surgical Pathology Laboratory, University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina | [b] Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias (IFIBYNE-UBACONICET), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires y Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: Ana Rosa Raimondi, Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias (IFIBYNE-UBA-CONICET), Ciudad Universitaria, Pabellón IFIBYNE (C1428EHA), Buenos Aires, Argentina. Tel.: +54 11 4576 3368 ext. 207; E-mail: [email protected].
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Stemness factors associated with tumorigenesis in different types of cancers have not been specifically studied in oral tongue SCC (OTSSC). Here, we aimed to quantify expression levels and distribution of KLF4 and SOX2, two relevant stemness factors, in oral SCC including OTSCC samples from different subsites. METHODS AND RESULTS: We determined KLF4 and SOX2 expression levels by immunostaining 35 biopsies of OSCC. Stained wholeslide images were digitized and subjected to automatic cell detection and unbiased quantification using Qupath software. We found statistically significant reduction in KLF4 positive cells density (p= 0.024), and fraction (p= 0.022) in OTSCC from tongue borders compared with other tongue subsites. Instead, quantitative SOX2 analysis did not show differences in expression levels between OTSCC from the borders versus OTSCC developed in others subsites. Notably SOX2 expression was revealed increased in moderately and poorly differentiated OSCC compared with well differentiated ones (positive cells density p= 0.025, fraction p= 0.006). No significant correlation between KLF4 and SOX2 expression was observed, neither in OSCC nor in OTSCC. CONCLUSIONS: KLF4 and SOX2 exhibit opposite expression profiles regarding subsite localization and differentiation level in OSCC. Our study prompts future OTSCC prospective studies looking for clinical prognosis to incorporate detailed subsite information in the analysis.
