title: Altered β-catenin expression in oral mucosal dysplasia: a comparative study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The current study aimed to investigate the β-catenin expression in oral leukoplakia (OL) with different degrees of epithelial dysplasia and normal oral mucosa.
  
  
  METHODS
  Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue samples of 39 OL (mild dysplasia n=19, moderate dysplasia n=13, and severe dysplasia n=7), and 10 normal oral mucosa (control group) were submitted to immunohistochemical reactions to anti-β-catenin primary antibody. A qualitative β-catenin analysis was performed based on the percentage of positive cells. The cellular location and the epithelial layer were also considered. The Chi-square test and the Fisher's exact test were used to verify possible differences in the β-catenin expression among the OL groups. A p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Membranous expression of β-catenin in parabasal and basal layers was gradually lost in the higher degrees of epithelial dysplasia. In normal oral mucosa, β-catenin was detected only in the cytoplasmic membrane. However, a significant increase in cytoplasmic β-catenin could be observed between mild and moderate dysplasia (Fisher Exact test - p<0.001) and between mild and severe dysplasia (p<0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The β-catenin cytoplasmic expression observed in this study may represent the initial stage of modifications in the E-cadherin-catenin complex, along with morphological cellular changes.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ciências Estomatológicas, Faculdade de Odontologia, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia, GO, Brazil.
authors.forename: Brunno Santos de Freitas
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Odontologia, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia, GO, Brazil.
authors.forename: Caroline Alves de
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Castro
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Patologia, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Vitória, ES, Brazil.
authors.forename: Sandra Lúcia Ventorin
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Von Zeidler
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Patologia Oral, Faculdade de Odontologia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Suzana Cantanhede Orsini Machado de
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Sousa
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ciências Estomatológicas, Faculdade de Odontologia, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia, GO, Brazil.
authors.forename: Aline Carvalho
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Batista
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ciências Estomatológicas, Faculdade de Odontologia, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia, GO, Brazil.
authors.forename: Fernanda Paula
authors.initials: FP
authors.lastname: Yamamoto-Silva
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000473:pathology; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007972:Leukoplakia, Oral / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D016612:Paraffin Embedding; D012016:Reference Values; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D051176:beta Catenin / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D051176:beta Catenin