Role of c-Met in the progression of human oral squamous cell carcinoma and its potential as a therapeutic target

Sun,Zujun; Liu,Qi; Ye,Dongxia; Ye,Kaichuang; Yang,Zhenhua; Li,Dong

doi:10.3892/or.2017.6073

Role of c-Met in the progression of human oral squamous cell carcinoma and its potential as a therapeutic target

Authors:
- Zujun Sun
- Qi Liu
- Dongxia Ye
- Kaichuang Ye
- Zhenhua Yang
- Dong Li
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Affiliations: Department of Clinical Laboratory, Shanghai Tongji Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200065, P.R. China, Department of Clinical Laboratory, Baoshan Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine Hospital, Shanghai 201900, P.R. China, Shanghai Research Institute of Stomatology, Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University, School of Medicine, Shanghai 200011, P.R. China, Vascular Surgery, Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University, School of Medicine, Shanghai 200011, P.R. China
Published online on: November 2, 2017 https://doi.org/10.3892/or.2017.6073
Pages: 209-216

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Abstract

Mesenchymal-epithelial transition factor (c-Met) is the only high affinity receptor for hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), and is frequently activated in many human cancers. However, little is known about the role of the HGF/c-Met signaling pathway in the progression of human oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). This study evaluated the role of the HGF/c-Met signaling pathway in the progression of human OSCC. We found that the expression of c-Met was significantly increased in human OSCC tissues than in normal mucosa adjacent to the tumor (P<0.05), but was not correlated with clinicopathological parameters. Additionally, the selective c-Met inhibitor JNJ was found to inhibit cell viability and migration and promote apoptosis in OSCC cell lines, and also blocked the activation AKT, ERK1/2, and NF-κB p65; thus, suggesting that HGF/c-Met signaling may play an important role in the tumorigenic properties of OSCC cells via the AKT, ERK1/2, and NF-κB pathways. Collectively, these results indicated that HGF/c-Met signaling may serve essential roles in the progression of human OSCC, and may thus be a basis for the development of novel therapeutic approaches in the treatment of OSCC.

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