Galectin-1 and galectin-3: Plausible tumour markers for oral squamous cell carcinoma and suitable targets for screening high-risk population

• Published in: Clinica chimica acta Vol. 442; pp. 13 - 21
• Main Authors: Aggarwal, Sadhna, Sharma, Suresh C., Das, Satya N.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 10.03.2015
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Biomarker; Biomarkers, Tumor - blood; Biomarkers, Tumor - genetics; Carcinogenesis; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - blood; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - diagnosis; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - pathology; Case-Control Studies; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell Proliferation; Cell Survival; Cloning, Molecular; Female; Galectin 1 - blood; Galectin 1 - genetics; Galectin 3 - blood; Galectin 3 - genetics; Galectins; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; Humans; Male; Mass Screening; Middle Aged; Mouth Neoplasms - blood; Mouth Neoplasms - diagnosis; Mouth Neoplasms - pathology; Oral cancer; Prognosis; Risk; Risk association; RNA, Messenger - genetics; RNA, Messenger - metabolism; ROC; Tumour growth; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A - blood; Young Adult; peripheral blood mononuclear cells; Biomarker; Oral cancer; ROC; oral squamous cell carcinoma; Risk association; MTT; radioimmunoprecipitaion assay; vascular endothelial growth factor; Galectins; Dulbecco's modified eagle medium; galectin-3; quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction; galectin-1; glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase; Tumour growth
• ISSN: 0009-8981; 1873-3492; 1873-3492
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cca.2014.12.038

Galectins are a family of carbohydrate binding proteins that regulate several cellular functions such as growth, migration, adhesion and apoptosis. We investigated the expression of galectin (gal)-1 and galectin (gal)-3 in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and observed their effects on growth and survival of OSCC cell lines. OSCC patients expressed significantly higher levels of gal-1 and gal-3 in circulation (p<0.0001) and at the tumour sites (p<0.01) as compared to controls. Patients with higher tumour load showed significantly higher expression of both galectins than those with lower tumour load. In ROC analysis, serum levels of gal-1 and gal-3 at cut-off values of 4.875 and 0.871ng/ml respectively, discriminated between healthy subjects and patients with more than 80% sensitivity and specificity. Similarly, logistic regression analysis revealed about 3-times higher risk of OSCC in subjects over expressing these proteins. Further, exogenous gal-1 and gal-3 significantly increased survival, proliferation and angiogenesis in OSCC cell lines. Serum levels of gal-1 and gal-3 may serve as plausible markers for oral squamous cell carcinoma and may be useful in screening population at a higher risk. •Galectins•Serum and tissue expression•Tumour growth and survival•Risk evaluation