Expression Of Integrin-linked Kinase In Oral Submucous Fibrosis

Purpose: To study the expression and location of integrin-linked kinase (ILK) in oral submucous fibrosis(OSF), and to characterize the role of this kinase in the pathogenesis of OSF.Methods:1. ILK protein was analysed by immunohistochemistry in 15 cases of normal oral mucosa and 75 cases of OSF lesion tissues, including 25 cases of early, middle and late stage respectively, and semi-quantitative method was used for detecting the expression levels of ILK in normal oral mucosa group and each OSF group.2. Transcription levels of ILK mRNA were determined by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) within 5 cases of normal oral mucosa and 29 cases of OSF lesion tissues, including 8 cases of early stage, 15 cases of middle stage, 6 cases of late stage.Results:1. In normal oral epithelial tissue, ILK was expressed weakly in the nuclear and the cytoplasm of individual cells of the basal layer and the spinous layer. With the increasing severity of OSF, the cells expressing ILK increased gradually, the staining degree deepened gradually. In the late stage, the cells stained with dark red in the nuclear and the cytoplasm were almost around the entire layers.2. ILK expression was significantly higher in each OSF group than that in normal group (p<0.05). ILK expression in early stage was significantly lower than that in middle and late stage (p<0.05). ILK expression in middle stage was not significantly lower than that in late stage (p>0.05). 3. ILK mRNA expression was significantly higher in each OSF group than that in normal group (p<0.05). ILK mRNA expression in early stage was significantly lower than that in middle and late stage (p<0.05). ILK mRNA expression in middle stage was not significantly lower than that in late stage (p>0.05).Conclusions:1. Integrin-linked kinase is overexpressed in the epithelial layer of OSF lesion tissues. With the development of disease, the expression levels increased gradually.2. ILK mRNA is overexpressed in the lesion tissues of OSF. With the development of disease, the expression level increased gradually.3. The overexpression of ILK probably promotes the occurrence and development of OSF through a variety of pathophysiological ways.