Urinary-type plasminogen activator receptor/alpha 3 beta 1 integrin signaling, altered gene expression, and oral tumor progression.

ABSTRACT: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) has 50% 5-year survival rate, highlighting our limited understanding of the molecular events that contribute to disease progression. Microarray analyses of primary oral tumors have identified urinary-type plasminogen activator (uPA) and its receptor (uPAR) as key genes associated with human OSCC progression. The uPAR functions as both a proteinase receptor and an integrin ligand, modifying proteolysis, migration, integrin signaling, and cellular transcription. In the current study, uPAR expression levels were modified in OSCC cells followed by analysis of tumor growth in an in vivo orthotopic xenograft model and by transcriptional profiling. Overexpression of uPAR resulted in more infiltrative and less differentiated tumors, with ill-defined borders, cyt

SUBMITTER: Ghosh S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2825738 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature