Expressional Variations of Kaiso: An Association with Pathological Characteristics and Field Cancerization of OSCC

Abstract Background: In patients diagnosed with cancer it is considered that there is a field of tissue in the diagnosed organ containing cells with genetic aberration which pose a higher risk of transforming in to premalignant and malignant lesions. This field of altered cells is known as field of cancerization and is considered responsible for frequent recurrence of the cancer. Various molecules are being investigated for their significance in development of field cancerization and hence malignant diseases. Various members of POZ-ZF (poxvirus and zinc finger (POZ)-zinc finger) family of transcription factors are known to play a part in pathogenesis of neoplasm, one such protein of this family is Kaiso also known as ZBTB33 ( Zinc Finger and BTB Domain containing 33. Kaiso is a transcription factor known for having two modes of binding with DNA. The protein belongs to POZ-ZF family of transcription factors and may have functional tasks similar to its other siblings such as growth and development of vertebrates and pathogenesis of neoplastic diseases. Nevertheless, its role in field cancerization, pathogenesis and progression of oral cancer still needs exploration. Hence, this study was designed to explore the expressional differences between the mucosa of controls and those diagnosed with OSCC. Methods: Soft tissue samples were obtained from main tumor, tumor periphery and opposite buccal mucosa of 50 oral cancer patients, whereas normal mucosa was taken from 50 volunteers undergoing elective tooth removal. The acquired samples were then subjected to Immunohistochemical exploration for expression of Kaiso. The expression was measured using Image-J IHC profiler and summed as Optical density. The Optical density values were then subjected to statistical analysis. Results: Results revealed a significant differential expression of Kaiso between the mucosal tissues taken from oral cancer patients and controls (p-value: <0.0001) showing almost 50% down-regulation of Kaiso in all three tissue samples taken from oral cancer patients as compared to normal mucosa.Conclusion: Kaiso have significant difference of expression in the mucosa of oral cancer patients than the normal mucosa making it a probable contributor to disease pathogenesis and field cancerization.