Increased expression of CENP-H gene in human oral squamous cell carcinomas harboring high-proliferative activity.

We examined the expression of Centromere protein H (CENP-H) mRNA in 38 oral squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs), 2 epithelial dysplasias and 5 normal gingivae using the real-time quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The mean expression level of CENP-H mRNA was higher in oral SCCs (0.11+/-0.08) than epithelial dysplasias (0.03+/-0.01) and normal gingivae (0.027+/-0.01). The expression level of CENP-H mRNA was significantly higher in oral SCCs than normal gingivae (Mann-Whitney U test, P=0.005). We also found a significant association between the level of CENP-H mRNA expression and clinical stage in oral SCCs (Mann-Whitney U test, P=0.04). We next studied the expression of CENP-H in 17 oral SCCs immunohistochemically. A significant correlation between the expression levels of CENP-H protein and the Ki-67 labeling index was found (Mann-Whitney U test, P=0.005). These results indicate that human CENP-H is closely linked to the increased or abnormal cell proliferation in malignant conditions.