open access

Vol 48, No 4 (2010)
Original paper
Submitted: 2011-12-19
Published online: 2011-04-12
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Expression of cyclooxygenase-1 and cyclooxygenase-2 in normal and pathological human oral mucosa.

Annamaria Mauro, Luana Lipari, Angelo Leone, Silvia Tortorici, Francesco Burruano, Salvatore Provenzano, Aldo Gerbino, Maria Buscemi
DOI: 10.2478/v10042-010-0066-3
·
Folia Histochem Cytobiol 2010;48(4):555-563.

open access

Vol 48, No 4 (2010)
ORIGINAL PAPERS
Submitted: 2011-12-19
Published online: 2011-04-12

Abstract

Cyclooxigenase (COX) is the rate-limiting enzyme for the conversion of arachidonic acid (AA) to prostaglandins (PGs). Two isoforms of COX have been identified: COX-1 is constitutively expressed in many cells and is involved in cell homeostasis, angiogenesis and cell-cell signalling; COX-2 is not expressed in normal condition however it is strongly expressed in inflammation. The oral cavity is constantly exposed to physical and chemical trauma that could lead to mucosal reactions such as hyperplasia, dysplasia and cancer. Early diagnosis is the most important issue to address for a positive outcome of oral cancer; therefore it would be useful to identify molecular markers whose expression is associated with the various stages of oral cancer progression. Since COX enzyme has been involved, with different mechanisms, in the development and progression of malignancies we decided to investigate the expression and localization of COX-1 and COX-2 in normal human oral mucosa and three different pathologies (hyperplasia, dysplasia and carcinoma) by immunohistochemistry and RT-PCR. COX-1 mRNA and protein have been detected already in normal oral mucosa and their expression progressively increases from normal samples towards hyperplasia, dysplasia and finally carcinoma. On the contrary, COX-2 is not expressed in the normal tissue, starts to be expressed in hyperplasia, reaches the maximum activation in dysplasia and then starts to be downregulated in carcinoma.

Abstract

Cyclooxigenase (COX) is the rate-limiting enzyme for the conversion of arachidonic acid (AA) to prostaglandins (PGs). Two isoforms of COX have been identified: COX-1 is constitutively expressed in many cells and is involved in cell homeostasis, angiogenesis and cell-cell signalling; COX-2 is not expressed in normal condition however it is strongly expressed in inflammation. The oral cavity is constantly exposed to physical and chemical trauma that could lead to mucosal reactions such as hyperplasia, dysplasia and cancer. Early diagnosis is the most important issue to address for a positive outcome of oral cancer; therefore it would be useful to identify molecular markers whose expression is associated with the various stages of oral cancer progression. Since COX enzyme has been involved, with different mechanisms, in the development and progression of malignancies we decided to investigate the expression and localization of COX-1 and COX-2 in normal human oral mucosa and three different pathologies (hyperplasia, dysplasia and carcinoma) by immunohistochemistry and RT-PCR. COX-1 mRNA and protein have been detected already in normal oral mucosa and their expression progressively increases from normal samples towards hyperplasia, dysplasia and finally carcinoma. On the contrary, COX-2 is not expressed in the normal tissue, starts to be expressed in hyperplasia, reaches the maximum activation in dysplasia and then starts to be downregulated in carcinoma.
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About this article
Title

Expression of cyclooxygenase-1 and cyclooxygenase-2 in normal and pathological human oral mucosa.

Journal

Folia Histochemica et Cytobiologica

Issue

Vol 48, No 4 (2010)

Article type

Original paper

Pages

555-563

Published online

2011-04-12

Page views

2599

Article views/downloads

2122

DOI

10.2478/v10042-010-0066-3

Bibliographic record

Folia Histochem Cytobiol 2010;48(4):555-563.

Authors

Annamaria Mauro
Luana Lipari
Angelo Leone
Silvia Tortorici
Francesco Burruano
Salvatore Provenzano
Aldo Gerbino
Maria Buscemi

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