EVI1 promotes proliferation and invasive properties of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cells

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is the tenth most common cancer worldwide. Alcohol and tobacco consumption are the predominant risk factors. Despite a multidisciplinary approach, the 5-year overall survival ranges only from 25% to 60%, depending on the site of origin. EVI1 expression increases with higher grading of HNSC tumors and over-expression was linked to a higher rate of lymph node metastasis. In lung cancer, its expression correlated negatively with patient survival. EVI1 was retrovirally over-expressed in CAL-33 and SCC-25 cells. Over-expression promoted proliferation, migration, and invasion of the cells. In CAL-33 cells, 1690 and 1684 genes were up- and down-regulated, respectively, at an FDR <0.1 in response to expression of EVI1. In SCC-25 cells, 334 significantly up- and 417 significantly down-regulated genes were identified. 71 and 181 genes were up- and down-regulated, respectively, in response to EVI1 expression in both cell lines. Gene ontology analysis revealed, among others, the terms epithelium development, extracellular matrix organisationorganization, cell adhesion, response to growth factor, and epithelial cell proliferation to be significantly enriched among the 252 genes that were regulated by EVI1 in a consistent manner in both cell lines. Gene expression profiles of CAL-33 EVI1 over-expression and CAL-33 control cell lines, and of SCC-25 EVI1 over-expression and SCC-25 control cell lines, in quadruplicates, using Illumina HiSeq 2500.