Do Bacterial Pathogen Associated Molecular Patterns Promote Oral Cancer Cell Invasiveness? Literature Review, Preliminary Data, and Proposal of the Experiments

The role of chronic inflammation for the cancer development was first described in 1863. Inflammation is also linked to invasion or metastasis of cancer. Inflammatory cytokines produced by local cells, in particular, tumor-associated macrophages, have long been known to increase metastasis. In addition, certain types of cancer cell secrete molecules promoting invasion and/or metastasis in response to bacterial virulence factors The oral cavity harbors a diverse and complex microbial community. The oral microbial flora contains approximately 700 species, and is composed of both commensal and pathogenic species. Bacteria accumulate on both the hard and soft tissues in a sessile biofilm. In this highly antigenic environment, oral mucosal tissue must maintain tolerance to commensal bacteria and to other molecules, such as food proteins in food. Under certain circumstances, however, the oral bacterial flora can induce an immune response resulting in inflammatory manifestations that can potentially trigger a development and progression of oral cancer. A striking association between periodontopathic pathogen and pancreatic cancer has been demonstrated, however, little is known about the relationship between effects of bacterial virulent factors on oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) progression. The purpose of this proposed study is to examine how bacterial pathogen associated molecular patterns regulate the biological aspects of oral cancer cell