Overexpression of gasdermin D promotes invasion of adenoid cystic carcinoma.

objectiveTo investigate the relationship between gasdermin D (GSDMD) expression and the invasion of adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC).

methodsImmunohistochemistry (IHC) was used to examine GSDMD expression in tumours and adjacent non-cancerous (ANC) tissues from 33 patients with salivary ACC patients and in tumour samples from 29 patients with pleomorphic adenoma (PA). Lentiviral infection was used to stably overexpress GSDMD in ACC-LM and ACC-83 cells (GSDMD-ov cells), which were subjected to transwell and scratch tests to assess their invasive abilities compared to control cells. Cells overexpressing GSDMD were treated with siRNA targeting GSDMD, and their invasive ability was subsequently examined.

resultsGSDMD expression was significantly higher in ACC tissues than in corresponding ANC tissues (P<0.001). After 24 hours, both the ACC-83 and ACC-LM GSDMD-ov cell lines had more cells that moved through the membrane than did the control cells (P<0.05). For the wound healing experiment, the diameter of the wound in the GSDMD-ov cell lines was smaller than that of the control cells (P<0.001) after 24 hours. The ACC cell lines expressing high GSDMD showed stronger metastatic ability than did the control.

conclusionGSDMD was highly expressed in ACC tissues compared to ANC tissues, and high GSDMD expression promoted the invasion of ACC cells. These findings suggest that GSDMD expression is related to the invasion of ACC. Our data indicate that we may be able to use GSDMD as an indicator of the invasive or metastatic potential of tumour cells in future research.