TY - JOUR T1 - Lipid droplets’ functional protein caveolin-2 is associated with lipid metabolism-related molecule FABP5 and EMT marker E-cadherin in oral epithelial dysplasia JF - Journal of Clinical Pathology JO - J Clin Pathol DO - 10.1136/jcp-2022-208673 SP - jcp-2022-208673 AU - Xiao-Jie Chen AU - Yu-Ting Bai AU - Ji-Rong Xie AU - Gang Zhou Y1 - 2023/02/28 UR - http://jcp.bmj.com/content/early/2023/02/28/jcp-2022-208673.abstract N2 - Aims To explore the accumulation of lipid droplets (LDs) and its relationship with lipid metabolism, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in the carcinogenesis processes in the oral cavity.Methods LDs were stained by oil red O. Forty-eight oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCC), 78 oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMDs) and 25 normal tissue sections were included to explore the LDs surface protein caveolin-2 and perilipin-3, lipid metabolism-related molecule FABP5 and EMT biomarker E-cadherin expression by immunohistochemical staining.Results The accumulation of LDs was observed in OPMDs and OSCCs compared with normal tissues (p<0.05). In general, an increasing trend of caveolin-2, perilipin-3 and FABP5 expression was detected from the normal to OPMDs to OSCC groups (p<0.05). Additionally, caveolin-2, perilipin-3 and FABP5 expression were positively correlated with epithelial dysplasia in OPMDs, whereas E-cadherin positivity was negatively correlated with histopathological grade in both OPMDs and OSCC, respectively. A negative correlation of caveolin-2 (p<0.01, r =−0.1739), and FABP5 (p<0.01, r =−0.1880) with E-cadherin expression was detected. The caveolin-2 (p<0.0001, r=0.2641) and perilipin-3 (p<0.05, r=0.1408) staining was positively correlated with FABP5. Increased caveolin-2 expression was related to local recurrence and worse disease-free survival (p<0.05).Conclusion In the oral epithelial carcinogenesis process, LDs begin to accumulate early in the precancerous stage. LDs may be the regulator of FABP5-associated lipid metabolism and may closely related to the process of EMT; caveolin-2 could be the main functional protein.All data relevant to the study are included in the article or uploaded as online supplemental information. ER -