Journal of Dental Research, Vol 75, 1353-1357, Copyright © 1996 by International & American Associations for Dental Research Online Journals
Identification of the Fas antigen in human gingiva
C. Yoshioka, Y. Muraki, J. Fukuda, T. Haneji and N. Kobayashi
First Department of Oral Surgery, Kyushu Dental College, Kitakyusyu, Japan.
The Fas antigen is a cell-surface glycoprotein that mediates apoptosis from
the cell surface into the cytoplasm. Polyclonal antibody (Fas D) was raised
against a synthetic polypeptide selected from the extracellular part of the
human Fas antigen (amino acid residues 104-114) and was used to detect the
Fas antigen in human gingiva. Biopsy specimens of human gingiva were
prepared, and the paraffin sections were reacted with the Fas D antibody by
an immunohistochemical method. The antibody localized to the prickle-cell
layer and to granular layer keratinocytes of human gingiva. Proteins were
also prepared from human gingiva and subjected to SDS-PAGE, followed by
Western-blotting analysis with the Fas D antibody. The antibody interacted
with a band corresponding to an estimated molecular weight of 35 kDa. The
incidence of the immunoreactive 35-kDa protein was detected in the gingiva
of 90% of the 20 individuals examined. The Fas antigen detected in human
gingiva may be related to the physiological turnover of oral mucosa.
