Abstract
Objective: To clear the expression of transcription factor Dickkopf-1 (DKK1) in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC) using the method of bioinformatics analysis. And to clarify the relationship between the expression of DKK1 and the clinicopathological characteristics of OSCC using the method of molecular biology and cytobiology, in order to determine the early diagnosis and significance of OSCC according to the marker of DKK1. Methods: In this study, the expression level of DKK1 in OSCC tissues was analyzed using GEPIA and TCGA databases, and then verified in vitro by qRT-PCR and Western-blot analysis. The correlation between DKK1 gene expression and the clinical pathological parameters of OSCC, and also the impact of DKK1 on prognosis were determined using the Linked Omics database. In addition, DKK1 was knocked down by RNA interference in SCC-4 and SCC-25 OSCC cell lines and the proliferation ability of OSCC cells was assessed by MTT assay. Results: High expression of DKK1 in OSCC is positively correlated with the pathological grade and T stage of OSCC. According to the TCGA results, DKK1 mRNA was highly expressed and it is related to the overall survival rate of OSCC. In addition, the expression level of both DKK1mRNA and protein were significantly raised in the cell line SCC25 and SCC-4. Furthermore, MTT analysis showed that DKK1 knockdown resulted in reduced proliferation of OSCC cells. Conclusions: TCGA database analysis showed that DKK1 was highly expressed in OSCC, and it is closely correlated to the pathological parameters of OSCC, which will provide important theoretical guidance for the subsequent study of oral squamous cell carcinoma.
Highlights
Oral Squamous Cell Carcinomas (OSCC) is one of the most common oral malignant tumors, accounting for 90% of the incidence and ranking the 6th place among systemic tumors [1]
According to the TCGA results, DKK1 mRNA was highly expressed and it is related to the overall survival rate of OSCC
The expression level of both DKK1mRNA and protein were significantly raised in the cell line SCC25 and SCC-4
Summary
Oral Squamous Cell Carcinomas (OSCC) is one of the most common oral malignant tumors, accounting for 90% of the incidence and ranking the 6th place among systemic tumors [1]. Many scholars believe that the disrupted balance between oncogene activation and tumor suppressor gene suppression may be one of the important causes of OSCC [2,3]. The secreted proteins family shares a similar conserved cysteine domain and inhibits the Wnt/β-catenin pathway [6,7]. In Chronic Lymphoblastic Leukemia (CLL), DKK1 is expressed at normal level, but does not affect the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. DKK1 has been proved to be a stress response gene involved in the JNK pathway [15,16]. As mentioned above, these studies have shown that the activity and expression level of DKK1 are different in different cancers. The role of DKK1 in OSCC is still unclear and needs to be further investigated
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