Expression of vimentin and CD44 in mucoepidermoid carcinoma: A role in tumor growth

Abstract

Background: Cancer stem cells (CSCs) may participate in angiogenesis by lining the wall of tumor vessels. Aim: The current study aimed to present the role of vimentin and CD44 in inducing vasculogenic mimicry (VM) and epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) in different grades of mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC). Materials and Methods: A total of 63 MEC samples were collected from the archive of Department of Pathology of Taleghani Educational Hospital, Tehran, Iran. Vimentin and CD44/periodic acid–Schiff double staining was performed. Statistical Analysis: Chi-square test was used to examine the differences with categorical variables. Significance level was set at 0.05. Pearson's correlation coefficient was used to assess the colocalization of the markers. Results: There were statistically significant differences between tumor grade and the expression levels of vimentin and CD44 (P = 0.000). Conclusion: Our results may disclose a definite relationship between microvessl density (MVD), VM, EMT, and CSCs in MEC samples. Thus, it is reasonable to suggest that CSCs are related to angiogenesis and VM.