Expression of ITG β-1, MMP9 and Vimentin in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma – A Real Time PCR Based Approach

Background: Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC) is the most common malignancies which accounts for 90% of oral cancer worldwide. The 5 year survival rate of OSCC is not more than 60% due to tumor metastasis and subsequent recurrence.

Aim: To compare the gene expression of ITG β-1, MMP9 and Vimentin in OSCC tissue samples and normal tissue samples and to correlate the expression levels of these molecules with the pathological grading and survival in OSCC patients. This would facilitate the understanding of EMT in OSCC progression thereby targeting this pathway for treatment of OSCC patients in near future.

Materials and Methods: 10 OSCC samples as well as normal healthy samples were collected and RNA isolation was done using TRIR kit, and then subjected to cDNA synthesis using ITG β-1, MMP9 and Vimentin primers. Real time PCR was performed using gene specific primers at 40 cycles. The results were retrieved, tabulated and analyzed.

Results: The current research results revealed that there were up regulation of mRNA expression in ITG β-1, MMP9 and Vimentin in OSCC patients than in healthy individuals. On comparison, MMP9 showed highest mRNA expression levels than ITG β-1 and Vimentin

Conclusion: Over expression of ITG B-1, MMP9, Vimentin plays a crucial role in progression of oral cancer and targeting EMT molecules could be an effective targeted approach for OSCC.