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Increased submaxillary gland androgen‑regulated protein 3A (SMR3A) expression was previously shown to serve as an independent risk factor for oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) and as a surrogate biomarker for active estrogen receptor 2 signaling in radioresistant tumor cells. In the present study, it was aimed to unravel the expression and clinical significance of another member of the opiorphin family, opiorphin prepropeptide (OPRPN), in the radiotherapy for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Expression of SMR3A and OPRPN were analyzed for the prior and post fractionated irradiation (4x2 Gy) by double immunofluorescence staining in established HNSCC cell lines as well as by immunohistochemical (IHC) staining in ex vivo tumor tissues. Next, in a retrospective experimental cohort study, primary tumor samples from OPSCC patients (n=96), who received definitive surgery and adjuvant radiotherapy were reviewed, and expression levels of OPRPN protein were detected by IHC. Immunoreactivity scores (IRS) were associated with pathological and clinical risk factors by Chi‑square analysis. Survival analysis was performed by using the Kaplan‑Meier plot, log‑rank test and Cox regression analysis. The expression levels of OPRPN and SMR3A protein were both induced by fractionated irradiation in vitro and ex vivo . In primary tumor samples, IRS of OPRPN was significantly higher than scores of SMR3A expression and positively correlated with expression patterns of SMR3A. SMR3A was confirmed to serve as an unfavorable factor, while OPRPN protein had no significant association with the clinical outcome of patients with OPSCC. A combinational analysis revealed that the subgroup with SMR3A high OPRPN low staining pattern had the worst clinical outcome among the various subgroups. Multivariate Cox regression analyses indicated that high expression of SMR3A serves as an independent unfavorable biomarker, while increased expression of OPRPN appears to exert protective function. In summary, the present study indicated that SMR3A and OPRPN serve as potential prognostic markers for HNSCC after radiotherapy.

Mucosal melanomas of the head and neck (MMHN) are aggressive tumors with poor prognosis, different opposed to cutaneous melanoma. In this study, we characterized primary mucosal malignant melanoma for the expression of Kallikrein-related peptidase 6 (KLK6), a member of the KLK family with relevance to the malignant phenotype in various cancer types including cutaneous melanoma. Paraffin-embedded MMHN of 22 patients were stained immunohistochemically for KLK6 and results were correlated with clinical and pathological data. In 77.3% (17/22) of MMHN cases, positive KLK6 staining was found. Staining pattern for tumor cells showed a predominant cytoplasmic staining. However, in six cases we also observed a prominent nuclear staining. MMHN with a high KLK6 expression showed significantly better outcome concerning local recurrence-free survival (p = 0.013) and nuclear KLK6 staining was significantly associated with the survival status (p = 0.027). Overexpression of KLK6 was detected in more than 70% of MMHN and approximately 40% of tumors showed a strong expression pattern. Correlation between clinical outcome of MMHN patients and overexpression of KLK6 has not been addressed so far. Our data demonstrate for the first time increased levels of KLK6 in MMHN and strengthen the hypothesis that there might be a context-specific regulation and function of KLK6 in mucosal melanoma.

Background: Molecular mechanisms of intrinsic or acquired radioresistance serve as critical barrier for curative therapy of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and remain a major obstacle for progression-free and disease-specific survival., Methods: HNSCC cell lines were treated with a protocol of fractionated irradiation (IR, 4× 2Gy) alone or in combination with antagonists of estrogen receptor signaling and viability was determined by a colony-forming assay (CFA). Expression of submaxillary gland androgen-regulated protein 3A (SMR3A) and estrogen receptor 2 (ESR2) were assessed in tumor cells in vitro by RQ-PCR, Western blot analysis and immunofluorescence staining, and by immunohistochemical staining of tissue microarrays containing tumor sections from patients with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC), which were treated by definitive or adjuvant radiotherapy. Subgroups with distinct SMR3A and ESR2 expression patterns were correlated with clinical parameters and survival outcome including multivariable analysis., Results: Fractionated irradiation (IR) revealed an accumulation of tumor cells with prominent SMR3A expression, which was accompanied by an up-regulation of the estrogen receptor 2 (ESR2). ESR2-dependent regulation of SMR3A was supported by induced expression after stimulation with estradiol (E2), which was impaired by co-treatment with 4-Hydroxytamoxifen (TAM) or Fulvestrant, respectively. Both drugs significantly sensitized FaDu cells to fractionated IR as determined by a CFA and accelerated apoptosis. These data suggest a critical role of ESR2 in radioresistance and that SMR3A might serve as a surrogate marker for active ESR2 signaling. In line with this assumption, ESR2-positive oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) with high SMR3A expression had an unfavorable progression-free and disease-specific survival as compared to those tumors with low SMR3A expression., Conclusions: In summary, our findings provide compelling experimental evidence that HNSCC with SMR3A and ESR2 co-expression have a higher risk for treatment failure and these patients might benefit from clinically well-established drugs targeting estrogen receptor signaling.

Background: Adenoid cystic carcinoma of the head and neck (ACC) is a rare tumor entity which originates from the salivary glands. The prognosis remains poor, as the tumor tends to exhibit perineural invasion and frequently develops distant metastases. The submaxillary gland androgen-regulated protein 3A (SMR3A) belongs to a gene family producing opiorphin homologs and is physiologically secreted by salivary glands. Expression of SMR3A has been identified as an unfavorable risk factor in survival of patients with squamous cell carcinoma in the head and neck, but its value as a prognostic biomarker for ACC has not been addressed., Materials and Methods: Tissue sections from primary ACC (n=86) and healthy glandular tissue as reference, were stained by immunohistochemistry. SMR3A expression levels were correlated with clinical and pathological features, including overall survival., Results: All patients had undergone surgery and 67 received adjuvant radiotherapy. The median disease-free survival (DFS) was 37 months and the median overall survival (OS) was 75 months. Prominent SMR3A expression in tumor cells was found in 24 of 86 patients (27,9%), and was inversely correlated with a male gender (p=0.009). There was no significant correlation between SMR3A expression and DFS, metastasis-free survival or OS., Conclusion: Our data demonstrate for the first time decreased levels of SMR3A in ACC compared to normal glandular tissue. These data suggest a context-dependent regulation of SMR3A expression in the pathogenesis of distinct subtypes of head and neck tumors, and support the assumption that detection of SMR3A expression serves as a surrogate for aberrant differentiation into mucosal- or glandular-like cells in ACC and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma., (Copyright© 2016 International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. John G. Delinassios), All rights reserved.)

Mucosal melanoma of the head and neck is a rare and aggressive tumor entity with a poor prognosis. The standard treatment is radical tumor resection, with or without adjuvant radiation, where conventional chemotherapies in advanced stage or recurrent diseases have shown little benefit. Overexpression of the programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) is a common feature in human cancer. Although PD-L1 is an acknowledged prognostic biomarker for dismal prognosis in other tumors of the head and neck, expression and clinical relevance of PD-L1 in mucosal melanoma have not been addressed so far. We assessed PD-L1 expression using immunohistochemical staining in 23 tumor samples from patients with primary mucosal melanoma and correlated expression status with clinicopathological and outcome data. Tumors were derived from the nasal cavity (43.5%), nasal sinuses (43.5%), and the conjunctiva (13%). All patients had undergone surgery; 39% of all patients received adjuvant radiation and 13% were administered systemic interferon therapy. The probability of 1- and 5-year overall survival was 87 and 34.8%, respectively. The mean overall survival was 51 months and the mean recurrence-free survival was 23 months. Immunohistochemical staining showed PD-L1 expression in 13% (3/23) of mucosal melanoma. In contrast, prominent PD-L1 staining was detected in 100% of tissue sections from a control group of cutaneous melanoma (n=9). PD-L1 expression in mucosal melanoma was not correlated with age, sex, nor anatomical localization of the tumor. Interestingly, patients with PD-L1-positive mucosal melanoma had a significantly longer recurrence-free survival (P=0.026). In contrast to cutaneous melanoma and some other malignancies, a relevant PD-L1 overexpression in mucosal melanoma could not be confirmed.

Co-stimulation via CD154 binding to CD40, pivotal for both innate and adaptive immunity, may also link haemostasis to vascular remodelling. Here we demonstrate that human platelet-bound or recombinant soluble CD154 (sCD154) elicit the release from and tethering of ultra-large (UL) von Willebrand factor (vWF) multimers to the surface of human cultured endothelial cells (ECs) exposed to shear stress. This CD40-mediated ULVWF multimer release from the Weibel-Palade bodies was triggered by consecutive activation of TRAF6, the tyrosine kinase c-Src and phospholipase Cγ1 followed by inositol-1,4,5 trisphosphate-mediated calcium mobilisation. Subsequent exposure to human washed platelets caused ULVWF multimer-platelet string formation on the EC surface in a shear stress-dependent manner. Platelets tethered to these ULVWF multimers exhibited P-selectin on their surface and captured labelled monocytes from the superfusate. When exposed to shear stress and sCD154, native ECs from wild-type but not CD40 or vWF-deficient mice revealed a comparable release of ULVWF multimers to which murine washed platelets rapidly adhered, turning P-selectin-positive and subsequently capturing monocytes from the perfusate. This novel CD154-provoked ULVWF multimer-platelet string formation at normal to fast flow may contribute to vascular remodelling processes requiring the perivascular or intravascular accumulation of pro-inflammatory macrophages such as arteriogenesis or atherosclerosis.