title: Expression of programmed cell death regulatory p53 and bcl-2 proteins in oral lesions.
abstract: With the ultimate goal of characterizing the molecular pathogenesis of oral cancer, the most predominant malignancy in India, immunocytochemical evaluation of p53 and bcl-2 proteins was carried out in hypeplastic oral mucosa, dysplastic oral mucosa and invasive oral cancer. All subjects gave a similar and almost uniform history of prolonged use of betal quid and tobacco. Expression of p53 was insignificant while bcl-2 was absent in hyperplastic leukoplakia lesions. Both proteins were however expressed in leukoplakia with apparent dysplasia. Almost all invasive cancer lesions showed high levels of both p53 and bcl-2. Good correlation was therefore evident between expression of these two proteins and increasing histologic abnormality. Moreover relative risk evaluation revealed that lesions expressing p53 and bcl-2 had a high probability of having a histology of dysplasia or worse. Since it has been previously shown that wild type p53 regulates the expression of bcl-2, it may be presumed that the protein detected in the dysplastic and malignant oral tissue is of the mutant type. It is also known that p53 is a positive regulator of programmed cell death or apoptosis while bcl-2 is an anti-apoptotic protein. This suggests the possibility that alterations in p53 followed by over-expression of bcl-2 occur early in oral carcinogenesis resulting in defective apoptosis and subsequent tumor progression.
authors.affiliation: Division of Laboratory Medicine, Regional Cancer Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala State, India.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ravi
authors.forename: K R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Nalinakumari
authors.forename: R S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Rajaram
authors.forename: M K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Nair
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Pillai
mesh_terms: D002452:Cell Count; D016923:Cell Death / Q000235:genetics; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000737:chemistry; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000737:chemistry; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry / Q000379:methods; D009059:Mouth Diseases / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000032:analysis*; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53