Abstract
Wnt family regulates cell growth, differentiation and proliferation during embryonic development and also plays important roles in tumorigenesis. By the method of immunohistochemistry, a paralleled stydy was conducted to check Wnt5a and β-Catenin expression in OSCC formalin fixed-paraffin embedded tissues. The results demonstrated (1) Wnt5a and β-Catenin cytoplasmic expression appeared in most OSCC. (2) Statistical results showed positive correlation between the level of Wnt5a expression and OSCC differentiation (P<0.05) and inverse correlation between the level of β-Catenin cytoplasmic expression and OSCC differentiation (P<0.05). Cytoplasmic accumulation of β-Catenin protein also associated with lymph node metastasis (P<0.05), and loss of β-Catenin protein on cell membrane was correlative differentiation level of OSCC inversely (P<0.05). These data indicate Wnt/β-Catenin pathway associates with tumorigenesis, metastasis and prognosis of OSCC, and Wnt5a also associates with histological grade of OSCC.
