OPN up-regulated proliferation and invasion of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma through the p38MAPK signaling pathway

Abstract

Osteopontin (OPN) is aberrantly expressed in various tumors. However, its role and detailed mechanisms in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) have not been extensively described. Expression of OPN in HNSCC was examined at the gene and protein levels. The effect of cell proliferation ability was examined by Cell Counting Kit-8, colony formation assay, cell invasiveness by Transwell assay, the effect of OPN on protein expression of Capase-3 and Bcl2 by Western blotting, and the expression of p38MAPK signaling pathway by p38MAPK inhibitor SB203580. We found that OPN expression was higher in human HNSCC tissues than in adjacent tissues. Osteopontin may regulate the proliferation and invasion of HNSCC cells through the p38-MAPK signaling pathway. Our study identifies an important role for OPN in HNSCC and further demonstrates that it may regulate the proliferation and invasion of HNSCC cells by activating the p38-MAPK signaling pathway. Osteopontin may be a promising prognostic and diagnostic indicator and a potential target for cancer therapy.