Zinc-α2-glycoprotein expression as a marker of differentiation in human oral tumors

Zinc-alpha(2)-glycoprotein (Zn alpha(2)gp) is a soluble major histocompatibility complex homolog widespread in body fluids and in glandular epithelia; the authors recently demonstrated its presence in stratified epithelia. Zn alpha(2)gp has been associated with tumor differentiation in breast cancers and other carcinomas. We compare here its gene expression in histopathologically graded oral squamous cell carcinomas and in their perilesional normals. Zn alpha(2)gp levels are higher in the controls than in the tumors, and higher in well-differentiated tumors than in poorly differentiated ones. Markers of oral epithelial maturation (keratin K13 and involucrin) are less simply related to tumor histology. (C) 1999 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.