ELEVATED PROTEIN-KINASE CK2 ACTIVITY IN CHROMATIN OF HEAD AND NECK TUMORS - ASSOCIATION WITH MALIGNANT TRANSFORMATION

We hypothesized that malignant transformation of normal mucosa of the upper aerodigestive tract to squamous cell carcinoma of the head and n eck (SCCHN) might be associated with altered CK2 activity in the chrom atin compartment of these tumors. We measured CK2 activity in the cyto sol and chromatin of 7 surgical specimens of SCCHN, and 5 specimens of normal oropharyngeal mucosa from non-smokers/non-drinkers. CK2 activi ty in SCCHN tumors was significantly elevated in both the nuclear chro matin (P < 0.0005) and cytosolic (P < 0.04) compartments relative to n ormal mucosa. These data suggest that activation or dysregulation of t he chromatin-associated CK2 signal may play a role in the pathobiology of SCCHN.