Increased mRNA expression of ADAMTS metalloproteinases in metastatic foci of head and neck cancer

• Published in: Head & neck 2009-06, Vol.31 (6), p.793-801
• Main Authors: Demircan, Kadir, Gunduz, Esra, Gunduz, Mehmet, Beder, Levent Bekir, Hirohata, Satoshi, Nagatsuka, Hitoshi, Cengiz, Beyhan, Cilek, Mehmet Zeynel, Yamanaka, Noboru, Shimizu, Kenji, Ninomiya, Yoshifumi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: ADAM Proteins - genetics; ADAM Proteins - metabolism; ADAMTS; ADAMTS5 Protein; Aged; aggrecanases; angiogenesis; Biological and medical sciences; Biomarkers, Tumor - metabolism; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - metabolism; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - mortality; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - secondary; Case-Control Studies; Female; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; Head and Neck Neoplasms - genetics; Head and Neck Neoplasms - mortality; Head and Neck Neoplasms - pathology; HNSCC; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; metastasis; Middle Aged; Neoplasm Staging; Otorhinolaryngology (head neck, general aspects and miscellaneous); Otorhinolaryngology. Stomatology; Prognosis; Reference Values; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; Risk Assessment; RNA, Messenger - analysis; Sensitivity and Specificity; Statistics, Nonparametric; Survival Analysis; tumor suppressor; Tumors
• ISSN: 1043-3074; 1097-0347
• DOI: 10.1002/hed.21045

Background. Although contribution of matrix metalloproteinases in cancer progression and dissemination is now well known, roles of recently discovered metalloproteinases, a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs (ADAMTS), in cancer development and progression remain mostly unknown. Methods. Here we examined the mRNA expression pattern of 6 members of ADAMTS aggrecanases (1, 4, 5, 8, 9, and 15) in primary head and neck cancer with and without metastasis by real‐time reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction. Results. Expression levels of ADAMTS mRNAs were lower in the majority of the primary tumors as compared with the controls. On the other hand, the expression levels of all of the ADAMTS mRNAs except ADAMTS4 were higher in the metastatic foci than in their corresponding primary tumors, which suggest that characteristics of the cancer cell population are different in the primary tumor and metastatic focus. Conclusion. Our findings suggest a metastasis model proposing accumulation of a subtype of cancer cells with high metastatic capacity within heterogenous primary tumor cell population.© 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck, 2009