{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,8]],"date-time":"2026-01-08T20:11:02Z","timestamp":1767903062478,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":32,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,11,16]],"date-time":"2022-11-16T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1668556800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Oncol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Objectives<\/jats:title><jats:p>The histological origin of base of the tongue (BOT) carcinomas is still elusive, and most studies have been focusing on the lingual tonsil. In this study, we sought to identify the existence of the squamous\u2013columnar junction (SCJ) in the human Von Ebner\u2019s glandular duct and explored the potential of that in forming squamous cell carcinomas in BOT.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Materials and methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>The specific genomes of BOT carcinoma were acquired and screened out by The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database analysis. The 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide (4-NQO)-treated mouse model was used to explore the transformation of SCJ during cancerization. We used immunohistochemistry to confirm the characteristics of SCJ in human Von Ebner\u2019s gland, which were further compared with those in the anus and cervix.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>The SCJ in the human Von Ebner\u2019s glandular duct was found to be similar to that of the cervix and anus. The transformation zone in the 4-NQO-treated mouse model had a multilayered epithelium structure similar to that of HPV16-transgenic mice. In human, the transformation zone of Von Ebner\u2019s gland is also similar to that of the cervix and anus.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title><jats:p>It is the first time that the existence of SCJ in the opening of the human Von Ebner\u2019s glandular duct was confirmed. The SCJ of Von Ebner\u2019s glands may be a significant origin of squamous cell carcinomas in BOT.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fonc.2022.1029404","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,11,16]],"date-time":"2022-11-16T06:38:41Z","timestamp":1668580721000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Squamous\u2013columnar junction of Von Ebner\u2019s glands may be a significant origin of squamous cell carcinomas in the base of the 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