LC3, LAMP2, KEAP1 and NRF2 in Salivary Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma

Objectives: Salivary Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma (SACC) is a tumor characterized by inevitable local progression and terminal hematogenous metastasis. This study aimed to investigate the expression of LC3, LAMP2, KEAP1 and NRF2 in SACC, and evaluate their association with the pathologic features of SACC.
Methods: Human salivary gland tissue microarray which contains 74 SACC, 12 pleomorphic adenoma and 18 normal salivary gland specimens. The relationships of these markers with pathologic features were then analyzed.
Results: High expression of LC3, LAMP2, KEAP1 and NRF2 were found in SACC patients, and LC3, LAMP2, KEAP1 and NRF2 expression were significantly higher in SACC than as compared with pleomorphic adenoma and (or) normal salivary gland. The expression of NRF2 was correlated with pathological type of human SACC (P<0.05). Moreover, the high-expression of KEAP1 had significant correlations with LC3 (P<0.001, R=0.3195), and LAMP2 (P<0.001, R=0.3346) and NRF2 (P<0.05, R=0.2246) by using the Pearson correlation coefficient test.
Conclusions: Our findings demonstrated that up-regulation of LC3, LAMP2, KEAP1 and NRF2 were associated with carcinogenesis and progression of SACC patients, suggesting that they may be useful molecular targets in salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma.