The multifunctional G-protein-coupled metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR) family comprises eight subtypes, some of which participate in tumorigenesis. The purpose of this study was to evaluate mGluR5 expression in oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) tissues and oral cancer cell lines. We also investigated the prognostic significance of mGluR5 and its functional importance in the migration, invasion, and adhesion of oral cancer cells. We evaluated the expression of mGluR5 in samples from 131 oral SCC patients and in several oral cancer cell lines by immunohistochemistry and RT-PCR. We observed varying levels of mGluR5 in human oral SCC tissues and cancer cell lines. There was a significant association between strong mGluR5 immunoreactivity and overall survival (P=0.0109). The functional significance of the expression of mGluR5 in oral cancer cells was then investigated in HSC3 oral tongue cancer cells. An mGluR5 agonist, DHPG increased tumor cell migration, invasion, and adhesion in HSC3 cells (P<0.05). This was reversed by the mGluR5 antagonist MPEP. Our results strongly suggest that mGluR5 is a new prognostic marker and contributes to tumor cell migration and invasion in oral cancer.

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