Purpose: To investigate the effects of DNA methyltransferase in mucoepidermoid carcinoma of human salivary glands tissues.
Methods: Forty-three samples from mucoepidermoid carcinoma of salivary glands and 17 normal salivary gland tissues were collected from January 2010 to September 2013. Immunohistochemistry and Western blot were used to detect the expression of Dnmt1 and Dnmt3b in normal tissues and specimen of mucoepidermoid carcinoma of salivary glands. The data were analysed with SPSS 22.0 software package.
Results: The positive expression rate of Dnmt1 in mucoepidermoid carcinoma tissue was 37.21%, and that in normal salivary gland tissues was 17.65%, there was no significant difference between them; the positive expression rate of Dnmt3b in mucoepidermoid carcinoma tissue was 83.72%, which was significantly higher than that in normal salivary gland tissue (11.76%, P<0.01). However, there was no significant correlation between high expression of Dnmt1 and Dnmt3b and clinicopathological parameters.
Conclusions: Dnmt3b may play a role in the tumorigenesis of mucoepidermoid carcinoma in salivary glands.