title: Immunolocalization and distribution patterns of type IV collagen alpha chains in oral mucosal melanoma.
abstract: The basement membrane (BM) is mainly composed of type IV collagen, which is composed of triple combinations of six distinct alpha (alpha) chains in a tissue-specific manner. The six collagen chain-specific antibodies (alpha1-alpha6) were used to examine the BMs of the oral epithelium (OE) and tumor clusters in oral mucosal melanoma (OMM). Eight OMM cases were examined. Results showed that the alpha1 and alpha2 chains were constantly detected at the BM of the normal OE as well as at the OE with atypical melanocytic proliferation and in invasive melanoma with nodular nests. The alpha1 and alpha2 chains were intermittently detected in in situ OMM, early invasive OMM and advanced invasive OMM with sheet-like nests. Gradual loss of alpha5 and alpha6 from the OE with atypical melanocyte through in situ OMM and early invasive OMM was observed. These findings suggest that changes in the immunolocalization and distribution patterns of type IV collagen alpha chains are associated with the progression of OMM. The distribution pattern of type IV collagen alpha chain varies depending on the architecture of the nest.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Pathology and Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine and Dentistry, Okayama University, 2-5-1 Shikata-cho, Okayama, 700-8525, Japan. jin@md.okayama-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Hitoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nagatsuka
authors.forename: Rosario
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Santos Rivera
authors.forename: Mehmet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gunduz
authors.forename: You-Jin
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Ryo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tamamura
authors.forename: Esra
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gunduz
authors.forename: Ichiro
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Naito
authors.forename: Yoshikazu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sado
authors.forename: Noriyuki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nagai
mesh_terms: D001485:Basement Membrane / Q000378:metabolism*; D024141:Collagen Type IV / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008545:Melanoma / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D024141:Collagen Type IV