Potential noninvasive biomarkers for the malignant transformation of oral leukoplakia: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The rising cancer incidence in patients with oral leukoplakia (OL) highlights the importance of identifying potential biomarkers for high-risk individuals and lesions because these biomarkers are useful in developing personalized management strategies for OL patients. This study systematically searched and analyzed the literature on potential saliva and serum biomarkers for OL malignant transformation. METHODS: PubMed and Scopus were searched for studies published up to April 2022. The primary outcome of this study was the difference in biomarker concentrations in saliva or serum samples from healthy control (HC), OL and oral cancer (OC) populations. Cohen's d with 95% credible interval was calculated and pooled using the inverse variance heterogeneity method. RESULTS: A total of seven saliva biomarkers were analyzed in this paper, including interleukin-1alpha, interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-6-8, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), copper, zinc, and lactate dehydrogenase. IL-6 and TNF-α exhibited statistically significant deviations in comparisons between HC versus OL and OL versus OC. A total of 13 serum biomarkers were analyzed, including IL-6, TNF-α, C-reactive protein, total cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoproteins, low-density lipoproteins, albumin, protein, ß2-microglobulin, fucose, lipid-bound sialic acid (LSA), and total sialic acid (TSA). LSA and TSA exhibited statistically significant deviations in comparisons between HC versus OL and OL versus OC. CONCLUSION: IL-6 and TNF-α in saliva have strong predictive values for OL deterioration, and LSA and TSA concentration levels in serum also have the potential to serve as biomarkers for OL deterioration.

Enhanced Healing and Antimicrobial Efficacy of Chitosan-g-Polyacrylamide in a Rat Model of Gingival Ulcers.

Patients in dental hospitals often experience oral ulcerative lesions, which lead to pain and affect the patient's quality of life. At present, the goal of treating oral ulcerative lesions with drugs is to reduce inflammation and promote ulcer healing. However, very few antibacterial and hemostatic drugs are designed to be suitable for the microenvironment of gingival ulcers. Based on this, we have designed a natural therapeutic agent for oral ulcerative lesions that meets the various requirements of oral ulcerative lesion medication. The chitosan-g-polyacrylamide (CP) copolymer is composed of chitosan as the main chain and polyacrylamide polymers as the side chains. Antibacterial experiments show that this polymer can effectively inhibit the proliferation of Gram-negative (Escherichia coli) and Gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus). In vitro cell experiments also show that the CP copolymer is non-toxic, which is conducive to ulcer wound healing. Coagulation experiments prove that the CP copolymer can accelerate blood coagulation to stop bleeding. In experiments using a Wistar rat gingival ulcer model, the CP copolymer significantly promoted ulcer healing and shortened the healing time. These results indicate that the CP copolymer may serve as a potential therapeutic agent for oral ulcerative lesions.

[The influence of Qi-lan granulates on the variation of proliferating cell nuclear antigen during the course of SD rat tongue carcinogenesis].

PURPOSE: To study the cancer blocking effect of the Qi-lan granulates in SD rats. METHODS: A total of 150 SD rats were divided into five groups A,B,C,D,E. Rats in group A, B, C, D were fed with 0.002% 4NQO dissolved in drinking water to induce tongue carcinogenesis in rats. Different concentration of the herb Qi-lan granulates was given to the rats of group B, C, D during oral carcinogenesis. Group A was model group, group E was normal group. The rats were sacrificed at 9, 18, 27 and 36 weeks respectively from the beginning of the experiment. The samples were collected for histophology and PCNA immunohistochemistry. The date was analyzed by Chi-square test and Kruskal-Wallis test using SPSS13.0 software package. RESULTS: The overall canceration rate of group B (14.29%), C (3.57%), D (14.29%) was significantly lower than group A (39.29%) (P<0.05), the effect of Qi-lan granulates in group C was the best. Immunohistochemistry result showed that 6 cases of normal oral mucosa in group A had positive expression of PCNA. In 11 cases of dysplasia, 8 had positive express of PCNA, 11 rats with oral cancerous tissues had positive expression of PCNA.In group A, the expression of PCNA was normal tissue0.05). In general, the expression of PCNA in group A was significantly higher than the Qi-lan granulates group, the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). The expression of PCNA in group E was negative. CONCLUSIONS: Qi-lan granulates have significant inhibitory effect on tongue cancer, through blocking cell proliferation.

[Significance of cell immunoreactions and cell apoptosis in oral lichen planus].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the expression of CD4+, CD8+ T cells and cell apoptosis in oral lichen planus (OLP) and investigate the role and the relationship of immunological reaction and cell apoptosis in the pathogenesis of OLP2. METHODS: Immunohistochemical technique was used to study the expression of CD4+, CD8+ T cells in 27 OLP cases. TUNEL was used for detecting the cell apoptotic index (AI) in 17 OLP2 cases. RESULTS: The expression of CD4+, CD8+ T cells were obviously elevated in lamina propria of OLP group compared with control group (P<0.05). There was a strong significance when compared the ration of CD4/CD8 in both group. AI was remarkably increased in epithelia cells and significantly decreased in lymphocytes in lamina propria in OLP cases compared with its expression in the control group respectively. CONCLUSION: The increased amount of CD4+, CD8+ T cells in lamina propria of OLP and the change ration of CD4/CD8 suggest that immune response is involved in the pathogenesis of OLP. The abnormal cell apoptosis plays an important role in the pathogenesis of OLP.

[Expression of TGF-beta1, Smad7 and cell apoptosis in epithelium of oral lichen planus].

OBJECTIVE: To examine the expression of TGF-beta1, Smad7 and cell apoptosis in oral lichen planus (OLP) and to evaluate the possible pathogenesis of oral lichen planus. METHODS: Immunohistochemical technique was used to study the expression of TGF-beta1 and Smad7 in the epithelia cells of 17 OLP cases and 7 normal oral mucosa (NOM). TUNEL was used for detecting the cell apoptosis in 17 OLP cases and 7 NOM. RESULTS: TGF-beta1 was moderately positive in the epithelia cells of OLP. All the epithelia cells in OLP showed strong cytoplasmic staining. The expression of TGF-beta1 and Smad7 were significantly increased in OLP compared with that in NOM (P < 0.05). Cell apoptotic index (AI) was remarkably increased in epithelia cells in OLP cases, and the cell apoptosis was localized in basal and suprabasal epithelial layers. There was a positive correlation between TGF-beta1 expression and cell apoptosis in the epithelia of OLP (r = 0.69, P <0.05). CONCLUSIONS: High expression of TGF-beta1 and Smad7 in the epithelia of OLP suggests that TGF-beta1-Smad7 signal pathway was disturbed in oral lichen planus. The imbalance of TGF-beta1-Smad7 pathway may contribute to the mechanisms of cell apoptosis of epithelial cells in OLP.