Elevated expression of hepatocyte and keratinocyte growth factor in cultured buccal-mucosa-derived fibroblasts compared with normal-skin-derived fibroblasts.

Oral mucosa heals faster with less scar formation than skin and a hypertrophic scar is very rare in the oral cavity, but its mechanism has not been elucidated enough. To elucidate whether or not there are differences in growth factor expression between fibroblasts derived from buccal mucosal and normal skin, we investigated the expression of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), keratinocyte growth factor (KGF) and stem cell factor (SCF) by cultured fibroblasts. The semiquantitative RT-PCR revealed that the expression of HGF and KGF transcripts by buccal mucosal fibroblasts was significantly elevated compared with that by dermal fibroblasts. In parallel, ELISA revealed the significant increase of HGF production by buccal mucosal fibroblasts. The level of production of SCF protein did not differ significantly. Our study suggests that increased expression of HGF and KGF by buccal mucosal fibroblasts may partly be responsible for the faster wound healing with less scar formation in the oral cavity compared with normal skin.