Metallothionein and p-Akt proteins in oral dysplasia and in oral squamous cell carcinoma: an immunohistochemical study

• Published in: Journal of oral pathology & medicine 2009-09, Vol.38 (8), p.644-650
• Main Authors: Pontes, H. A. R., De Aquino Xavier, F. C., Da Silva, T. S. P., Fonseca, F. P., Paiva, H. B., Pontes, F. S. C., Dos Santos Pinto Jr, D.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Analysis of Variance; Biological and medical sciences; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - metabolism; Case-Control Studies; Dentistry; dysplasia; Female; Humans; Leukoplakia, Oral - metabolism; Male; Medical sciences; Metallothionein - metabolism; Middle Aged; Mouth Mucosa - metabolism; Mouth Mucosa - pathology; Mouth Neoplasms - metabolism; oral cancer; oral mucosa; oral pre-cancer; Otorhinolaryngology. Stomatology; Precancerous Conditions - metabolism; Precancerous Conditions - pathology; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt - metabolism; Reference Values; Second Messenger Systems - physiology; Signal Transduction - physiology; Statistics, Nonparametric; Tumors; Upper respiratory tract, upper alimentary tract, paranasal sinuses, salivary glands: diseases, semeiology
• ISSN: 0904-2512; 1600-0714
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0714.2009.00787.x

Background:  Oral leukoplakia (OL) is the main potentially malignant lesion of the oral cavity, and oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) accounts for more than 95% of all malignant neoplasms in the oral cavity. Therefore, the aim of this study was to verify the immunoexpression of p‐Akt and Metallothionein (MT) proteins in dysplasic and neoplasic oral lesions. Methods:  Immunohistochemical studies were carried out on 10 normal epithelium, 30 OL and 15 OSCC paraffin‐embedded samples. Immunoperoxidase reaction for p‐Akt and MT proteins was applied on the specimens, and the positivity of the reactions was calculated for 1000 epithelial cells. Results:  Using the ANOVA and the Tukey’s post hoc statistical analyses, it was observed a significant difference in the immunoexpression for p‐Akt and MT when the OSCC samples were compared with normal and dysplasic epithelial groups. In addition, the Pearson’s correlation test showed a significant correlation between the proteins’ expression. Conclusion:  Based on the data obtained, p‐Akt and MT activation may play an important role in the conversion of a potentially malignant oral lesion to a malignant carcinoma since its earlier stages.