Expressions of zinc finger protein A20 and nuclear factor-κB in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma tissue and their correlation with human papillomavirus infection

Objective To measure the expressions of zinc finger protein A20 and nuclear factor (NF)-κB in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) tissue and their correlation with human papillomavirus (HPV) infection.Methods Tissue specimens were obtained from the lesions of 43 patients with CSCC and normal skin of 21 healthy human controls.Gene chips were used to detect the DNA of 21 HPV subtypes in these specimens.The expression levels of zinc finger protein A20 and NF-κB were determined by immunohistochemistry.The correlation between clinicopathological features of CSCC and HPV infection was estimated by Spearman rank correlation analysis.Results No significant difference was found in the expression level of either zinc finger protein A20 or NF-κB among patients of different age groups,gender,and with CSCC of different primary sites or histological grade (all P ＞ 0.05).However,there was a significant difference in the expression levels of zinc finger protein A20 and NF-κB between 39 patients with histological grade Ⅰ or Ⅱ and 4 patients with grade Ⅲ (25.85 ± 3.84 vs.48.34± 7.69 for zinc finger protein A20,46.64 ± 8.93 vs.57.34 ± 10.02 for NF-κB,both P ＜ 0.05),and between 3 patients with nodular metastasis and 40 patients without (35.34 ± 6.02 vs.26.51 ± 4.09 for zinc finger protein A20,57.53 ± 13.32 vs.45.45 ± 9.64 for NF-κB,P ＜ 0.05 or 0.01).The expression rate was 2/8,5/13 and 1/3 for zinc finger protein A20 (P ＞ 0.05),3/8,10/13 and 2/3 for NF-κB (P ＞ 0.05),in CSCC tissue specimens infected with low-risk HPV subtypes,high-risk subtypes,concurrent low-and high-risk HPV subtypes respectively.In HPV-infected CSCC tissue,a significantly positive correlation was found between the staining scores for zinc finger protein A20 and for NF-κB p65(r =3.14,P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion The high expressions of NF-κB and zinc finger protein A20 may play an important role in the oncogenesis of CSCC induced by HPV infection. Key words: Carcinoma, squamous cell;  Zinc finger protein A20;  NF-kappa B;  Alphapapillomavirus