title: Expression of muscle-specific integrins in masseter muscle fibers during             malocclusion disease.
abstract: Integrins are heterodimeric cell surface membrane proteins linking the extracellular             matrix to actin. α7B integrin is detected in proliferating and adult myofibers,             whereas α7A plays a role in regenerating muscle fibers with a minor function in             mature muscle fibers. The expression levels of β1A appear to be very low, whereas             β1D appears to be the predominant integrin form in mature muscle. Considering             the important features of masseter muscle we have studied integrin expression             in masseter muscle specimens of surgical patients with posterior right crossbite             and comparing them to left side masseter muscle specimens. Our results showed             that the expression of integrins was significantly lower in the crossbite side             muscle. Furthermore, the most important finding is that β1A is clearly detectable             in adult masseter muscle. This behavior could be due to the particular composition             of masseter, since it contains hybrid fibers showing the capacity to modify the             contractile properties to optimize the energy efficiency or the action of the             muscle during contraction. Moreover, masseter is characterized by a high turnover             of muscle fibers producing a regeneration process. This may indicate a longer             time to heal, justifying the loss of β1D and the consequential increase of β1A.             Thus, our data provide the first suggestion that integrins in masseter muscle             play a key role regulating the functional activity of muscle and allowing the             optimization of contractile forces.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomorphology and Biotechnologies, Messina University,                     I-98125 Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuseppina
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cutroneo
authors.forename: Maria Grazia
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Piancino
authors.forename: Guglielmo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ramieri
authors.forename: Pietro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bracco
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vita
authors.forename: Gaetano
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Isola
authors.forename: Giovanna
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vermiglio
authors.forename: Angelo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Favaloro
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Anastasi
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Trimarchi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D015870:Gene Expression; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D016023:Integrins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008313:Malocclusion, Angle Class III / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D008406:Masseter Muscle / Q000378:metabolism*; D018485:Muscle Fibers, Skeletal / Q000378:metabolism*; D009928:Organ Specificity / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D016023:Integrins