The implication of osteopontin (OPN) expression and genetic polymorphisms of OPN promoter in oral carcinogenesis

Osteopontin (OPN) is an extracellular matrix protein in hard tissues. The polymorphism in promoter region of OPN gene correlates to different gene expression and might implicate potential roles in tumor progression and metastasis. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was utilized to detect the OPN expression in 58 oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) tissues and adjacent normal oral mucosa. The differential OPN expression was further analyzed in relation to clinico-pathological features. Genomic DNA was obtained from isolated leukocytes of blood samples of OSCC patients (n = 100), and healthy individuals (n = 97) from Taiwan. The OPN gene polymorphism was analyzed by direct sequencing. Our result showed OPN expression was significantly higher in OSCC tissues than in the paired adjacent normal tissues (p < 0.01). The expression of OPN was significantly associated with nodal metastasis and the more advanced clinical stage (p < 0.05). More prevalent -156 insGG/insGG genotype and -443 T/T genotype was found in OSCC patients (p < 0.05). A significant difference in -443T/-156GG/-66T and -443C/-156G/-66T haplotypes between OSCC and controls (p < 0.05) was also noted. The OPN expression in tumor tissues significantly correlated with -156 insGG/insGG and -156 G/G + insGG/G genotypes (p < 0.05). The conclusion is tissue OPN expression correlates to OSCC progression. -156 insGG/insGG genotype is associated with OSCC susceptibility and higher OPN expression.