Eosinophil depletion protects mice from tongue squamous cell carcinoma induced by 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide
Janine Mayra da Silva1, Celso Martins Queiroz-Junior1, Aline Carvalho Batista2, Milene Alvarenga Rachid3, Mauro Martins Teixeira4 and Tarcília Aparecida da Silva1
1Department of Oral Surgery and Pathology, Faculdade de Odontologia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil, 2Department of Stomatology (Oral Pathology), Faculdade de Odontologia, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia, Brazil, 3Department of General Pathology, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil and 4Laboratory of Immunopharmacology, Department of Biochemistry and Immunology, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Offprint requests to: Tarcília Aparecida da Silva, Departamento de Clínica, Patologia e Cirugia Odontológicas, Faculdade de Odontologia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Av. Antônio Carlos 6627, CEP 31.270-901, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. e-mail: tarcilia@ufmg.br
Summary. Aims: Tumor-associated tissue eosinophilia (TATE) has been correlated with prognosis in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). This study aimed to investigate whether eosinophils depletion affects experimental oral carcinogenesis.
Methods and Results: BALB/c (wild type - WT) and eosinophil-deficient (Δdb/GATA-1) mice were treated with the carcinogen 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide (4NQO) in drinking water for 28 weeks. Tongues were collected for histopathological and immunohistochemical analysis, as well as for the evaluation of cytokines/chemokines by ELISA. The tongue SCC induced by 4NQO was associated with a rise in eosinophil numbers. WT-treated group showed a significantly increased incidence of SCC, with higher cytological atypia, in comparison with Δdb/GATA-1 mice. Consistently, the proliferative index was higher in WT compared to the Δdb/GATA-1/GATA-1-treated group. No significant changes in the concentration of CCL3, CCL11 and TNF-α were detected for both groups after 4NQO treatment. Conclusions: These results suggest that eosinophils might be responsible for the deleterious outcome of experimental tongue carcinogenesis, given that their ablation protects mice from OSCC. Histol Histopathol 29, 387-396 (2014)
Key words: Eosinophil, Squamous cell carcinoma, Tonge, GATA, 4NQO
DOI: 10.14670/HH-29.387