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Published on: April 1, 2022
A role for the substance P/NK-1 receptor complex in cell proliferation and apoptosis in oral lichen planus
M A González Moles1, F Esteban, I Ruiz-Avila
1Granada School of Dentistry, Oral Medicine, Granada University, Granada, Spain. magonzal@ugr.es
Objectives:
To determine whether substance P (SP) and NK-1 receptor (NK-1R) are expressed in oral lichen planus (OLP) and are related to cell proliferation and apoptosis in this disease.
Material And Methods:
Tissue samples from 50 OLP patients and 26 healthy controls were studied. Immunohistochemistry was performed with anti-SP, anti-NK-1R, anti-ki-67 and anti-caspase-3 monoclonal antibodies and the clinical and pathological data of the OLP patients were evaluated.
Results:
With the exception of NK-1R expression in epithelial cell membrane and cytoplasm, all markers were more frequently present in OLP patients than in controls (P < 0.05). Higher cytoplasmatic expression of NK-1R was associated with higher epithelial expression of caspase-3 (P < 0.05). Higher epithelial expression of NK-1R and SP was associated with higher suprabasal and basal epithelial expression of ki-67 (P < 0.05 and P < 0.005, respectively).
Conclusions:
Actions of the SP/NK-1R complex may contribute to the immune disorder underlying OLP and trigger stimuli to induce cell proliferation. These results indicate that this complex might play a role in the malignant transformation of OLP.
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