title: The upregulation of cystatin C in oral submucous fibrosis.
abstract: Cystatin C is a 13kDa non-glycosylated basic protein belonging to cystatin family. It is consistently and dramatically upregulated in a variety of fibrotic diseases. The aim of this study was to compare cystatin C expression in normal human buccal mucosa and oral submucous fibrosis (OSF) specimens and further explore the potential mechanism that may lead to induction of cystatin C expression. Twenty-five OSF specimens and six of normal buccal mucosa were examined by immunohistochemistry. The activity of cystatin C from fibroblasts cultured from OSF and normal buccal mucosa were evaluated by using reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Furthermore, the effect of arecoline, the major areca nut alkaloid, was explored. Cystatin C expression was significantly higher in OSF specimens (p<0.05) and expressed mainly by fibroblasts, endothelial cells, and inflammatory cells. OSF demonstrated significantly higher cystatin C expression than normal buccal mucosa fibroblasts both in mRNA and protein levels (p<0.05). In addition, arecoline was also found to elevate cystatin C mRNA and protein expression in a dose-dependent manner (p<0.05). Taken together, the data demonstrate that cystatin C expression is significantly upregulated in OSF from areca quid chewers and arecoline may be responsible for the enhanced cystatin C expression in vivo.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Pathology, Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Tsai
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Chung-Hung
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shun-Fa
authors.forename: Chang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yu-Chao
mesh_terms: D001115:Arecoline / Q000009:adverse effects; D002610:Cheek; D018679:Cholinergic Agonists / Q000009:adverse effects; D055316:Cystatin C; D015891:Cystatins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D009914:Oral Submucous Fibrosis / Q000378:metabolism*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis / Q000187:drug effects; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015854:Up-Regulation
chemical_list: C525030:CST3 protein, human; D018679:Cholinergic Agonists; D055316:Cystatin C; D015891:Cystatins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D001115:Arecoline