Abstract:

Objective To estimate the relationship between matrix attachment region-binding proteins （MARBPs） and skin squamous cell carcinoma （SCC）, and to screen for highly-associated MARBPs. Methods Skin specimens were resected from the tumor and tumor-adjacent normal tissue of 12 patients with SCC. Normal skin tissue from the abdomen of 2 of the 12 patients served as the control. Reverse-transcription PCR was performed to detect the mRNA expressions of seven MARBPs, including CUX1, Lamin B1, Nucleolin, hnRNP U, SAFB2, SATB1 and YBX1, in these specimens and in a human keratinocyte cell line HaCaT and two cell lines Colo-16 and A431 derived from human SCC. Results No evident expression was observed for the seven MARBPs in the normal control specimens, while the MARBPs were expressed in the tumor tissue and tumor-adjacent tissue specimens, Colo-16 cells and A431 cells at different degrees and frequencies. In HaCaT cells, all the 7 MARBPs except SATB1 were expressed. Statistical analysis showed a significant difference in the expression of CUX1, Nucleolin and YBX1, but not in that of Lamin B1, hnRNP U, SAFB2 or SATB1 between the tumor and tumor-adjacent normal tissues. Conclusion Some MARBPs such as CUX1, Nucleolin and YBX1 may participate in the development of skin squamous cell carcinoma.

Key words: matrix attachment region binding proteins