Junctional Adhesion Molecule-A in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Abstract

Junctional adhesion molecule-A (JAM-A), which belongs to the IgG superfamily, is one of the tight junction molecules. JAM-A is dysregulated in various cancers and is closely associated with the invasion and metastasis of cancers such as breast cancer, lung cancer and pancreatic cancer. In the present study, we found a high expression of JAM-A in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) as well as β-catenin in immunohistochemistry. The expression of JAM-A and β-catenin was of a low level in differentiation-induced cancer pearl regions of HNSCC. Real-time PCR showed the high expression of JAM-A mRNA through all differentiated stages (well, moderate, poor) of HNSCC. When we performed ELISA using the serum of HNSCC patients to measure plasma-soluble JAM-A, it was found to be higher in HNSCC patients than healthy subjects. These results indicate that JAM-A is one of the malignancy markers of HNSCC as well as β-catenin in histopathology, and the plasma-soluble JAM-A may contribute to a serum diagnosis of HNSCC. JAM-A is a promising molecular target for diagnosis and therapy in HNSCC.