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Expression of bcl-2 antagonist bak in inflammatory and neoplastic skin diseases

H Tomková1, W Fujimoto, J Arata

  • 1Department of Dermatology, Okayama University Medical School, Japan.

The British Journal of Dermatology
|February 12, 1998
PubMed

Insights

The proapoptotic protein Bak is expressed in normal skin and various skin diseases. Loss of Bak expression, along with Bcl-2 overexpression, may contribute to basal cell carcinoma development.

Area of Science:

  • Dermatology
  • Oncology
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Bak (bcl-2 homologous antagonist/killer) is a proapoptotic protein crucial for regulating programmed cell death.
  • The bcl-2 gene family includes oncogenes involved in cell death regulation.
  • Understanding Bak expression in skin diseases is important for pathogenesis research.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the expression patterns of Bak in normal skin and various inflammatory and neoplastic skin conditions.
  • To compare Bak expression in different skin layers and appendages.
  • To explore the potential role of Bak in the pathogenesis of basal cell carcinoma.

Main Methods:

  • Immunohistochemical analysis of skin tissue samples.
  • Immunoblot analysis of cultured human epidermal keratinocytes.

Main Results:

  • Positive Bak staining was observed in epidermal keratinocytes of normal skin and in psoriasis vulgaris, lichen planus, actinic keratosis, keratoacanthoma, and squamous cell carcinoma.
  • Bak was expressed in the follicular infundibulum but showed weak or negative expression in the outer root sheath.
  • Seventeen of 20 basal cell carcinomas exhibited negative Bak immunostaining, with three showing weak positivity.

Conclusions:

  • Bak is expressed in various skin compartments and diseases.
  • The loss of Bak expression in basal cell carcinoma, potentially alongside Bcl-2 overexpression, may play a role in its pathogenesis.

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