metallothionein and Leukoplakia--Oral

Oral leukoplakia (OL) is the main potentially malignant lesion of the oral cavity, and oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) accounts for more than 95% of all malignant neoplasms in the oral cavity. Therefore, the aim of this study was to verify the immunoexpression of p-Akt and Metallothionein (MT) proteins in dysplasic and neoplasic oral lesions.. Immunohistochemical studies were carried out on 10 normal epithelium, 30 OL and 15 OSCC paraffin-embedded samples. Immunoperoxidase reaction for p-Akt and MT proteins was applied on the specimens, and the positivity of the reactions was calculated for 1000 epithelial cells.. Using the ANOVA and the Tukey's post hoc statistical analyses, it was observed a significant difference in the immunoexpression for p-Akt and MT when the OSCC samples were compared with normal and dysplasic epithelial groups. In addition, the Pearson's correlation test showed a significant correlation between the proteins' expression.. Based on the data obtained, p-Akt and MT activation may play an important role in the conversion of a potentially malignant oral lesion to a malignant carcinoma since its earlier stages.

Topics: Adult; Analysis of Variance; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell; Case-Control Studies; Female; Humans; Leukoplakia, Oral; Male; Metallothionein; Middle Aged; Mouth Mucosa; Mouth Neoplasms; Precancerous Conditions; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; Reference Values; Second Messenger Systems; Signal Transduction; Statistics, Nonparametric

to report the immunoexpression of metallothionein in oral leukoplakia and to correlate with histological grade and clinical localization. Leukoplakia is the most common potentially malignant lesion of the oral cavity. As the histological study of oral leukoplakia can not predict precisely the malignant transformation of this lesion, and metallothionein is a protein that has been associated with carcinogenesis, this study could be auxiliary in this histological assessment of this lesion.. samples of oral leukoplakia (35 cases) and of normal oral mucosa (10 cases) were evaluated. Oral leukoplakia was graded in: hyperkeratosis without dysplasic change (9 cases), mild dysplasia (8 cases), moderated dysplasia (10 cases), and severe dysplasia (8 cases). Immunohistochemistry for the metallothionein was performed and the Mann-Whitney test was used in statistical analysis.. metallothionein was identified in squamous cells of the all samples. The metallothionein stain in all cases exhibit a mosaic pattern and was predominantly in compartments cytoplasmatic and nuclear simultaneously. The total stain was significantly higher in moderate dysplasia when compared with normal oral mucosa, hyperkeratosis, and mild dysplasia.. it was suggested that the metallothionein may be a marker to moderate dysplasia and may play a role in oral carcinogenesis.

Topics: Female; Humans; Leukoplakia, Oral; Male; Metallothionein