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Expression of an Inhibitor of Apoptosis, Survivin, in Oral Carcinogenesis

¹ First Department of Oral and Maxillo-Facial Surgery, Tokyo Dental College, 1-2-2 Masago, Mihama-ku, Chiba 261-8502, Japan;
² Department of Clinical Molecular Biology, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, 1-8-1 Inohana, Chuo-ku, Chiba 260-8670, Japan;
³ Division of Oral Surgery, Chiba University Hospital, 1-8-1 Inohana, Chuo-ku, Chiba 260-8670, Japan;

^* corresponding author, uzawak{at}faculty.chiba-u.jp

A novel inhibitor of apoptosis, survivin, plays a role in oncogenesis. To determine the potential involvement of survivin in oral carcinogenesis, we investigated the distribution of survivin protein expression in oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCCs) and oral pre-malignant lesions. The mRNA expression level and methylation status of the gene also were evaluated in OSCCs and OSCC-derived cell lines. In immunohistochemistry, 58% of tumors and 37% of pre-malignant lesions examined were positive for survivin, while no immunoreaction was observed in corresponding normal tissues. The reverse-transcription/polymerase chain-reaction revealed similar changes in survivin gene expression levels. Furthermore, of the 9 normal oral tissues with no survivin gene expression, 4 showed methylation of the gene, while no methylation was detected in the corresponding tumorous tissues. The results suggest that survivin plays an important role during oral carcinogenesis, and that the gene expression may be regulated by an epigenetic mechanism.

KEY WORDS: survivin • oral squamous cell carcinoma • DNA methylation • inhibitor of apoptosis