CD146 expression in oral lichen planus and oral cancer

Clinical Oral Investigations - To examine the CD146/METCAM expression on keratinocytes in normal oral mucosa (NOM), oral lichen planus (OLP), oral epithelial dysplasia (OED), and oral squamous cell...     

Overexpression of Claudin-1 is Associated with Advanced Clinical Stage and Invasive Pathologic Characteristics of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Claudins constitute a group of principal proteins forming the tight junctional complex. The altered expression of selected claudins has been reported in several human cancers. The purpose of this study was to investigate the expression of claudin-1 and claudin-4 in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and examine its relationship with patient clinical-pathologic features. Forty-five OSCC cases were enrolled. Patient clinical, pathologic and follow-up data were reviewed and the claudin-1 and claudin-4 expression was analyzed immunohistochemically. Positive claudin-1 and claudin-4 immunoreactivities were noted in 86.7 and 80 % of cases, respectively. The majority of cases showed the staining in less than 25 % of cancer cells. The increased claudin-1 expression was significantly associated with the high pathologic grade, the presence of microscopic perineural invasion, vascular invasion, nodal metastasis, and advanced clinical stage. No relationship between various clinico-pathologic parameters and differential claudin-4 expression was observed. Claudin-1 may play a role in OSCC progression and could serve as a prognostic marker of advanced disease.     

Streptococcus mutans strains recovered from caries-active or caries-free individuals differ in sensitivity to host antimicrobial peptides

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are among the repertoire of host innate immune defenses. In the oral cavity, several AMPs are present in saliva and have antimicrobial activities against oral bacteria, including Streptococcus mutans, a primary etiological agent of dental caries. In this study, we hypothesized that unique S. mutans strains, as determined by DNA fingerprinting from sixty 13‐year‐old subjects with or without experience of caries, would have different susceptibilities to α‐defensins‐1–3 (HNP‐1–3), β‐defensins‐2–3 (HBD‐2–3) and LL‐37. The salivary levels of these peptides in subjects were also measured by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assays. We found that S. mutans strains from children with active caries showed greater resistance to salivary HNP‐1–2, HBD‐2–3 and LL‐37 at varying concentrations than those from caries‐free subjects. In addition, combinations of these peptides increased their antimicrobial activity against S. mutans either additively or synergistically. The salivary levels of these peptides were highly variable among subjects with no correlation to host caries experience. However, the levels of a number of these peptides in saliva appeared to be positively correlated within an individual. Our findings suggest that the relative ability of S. mutans to resist host salivary AMPs may be considered a potential virulence factor for this species such that S. mutans strains that are more resistant to these peptides may have an ecological advantage to preferentially colonize within dental plaque and increase the risk of dental caries.