Fhit protein expression in oral epithelium: immunohistochemical evaluation of three antisera.

BACKGROUND

A number of studies have shown that the Fhit tumour suppressor protein is abundantly expressed in normal epithelial cells of human organs and that this expression is lost or reduced in the majority of cancers arising in these epithelial tissues. A variety of antiFhit sera have been used but a systematic comparison of the different antisera has not yet been reported.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

We compared the Fhit expression pattern in the epithelium of fibrous epuli, oral lichen planus, oral epithelial dysplasia and oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCC) using three different Fhit antisera.

RESULTS

The antigstFhit sera from two sources gave very similar results for all types of oral lesions except for lichen planus and showed that about 60% of OSCCs have lost Fhit expression.

CONCLUSION

Although different staining patterns were found for the three antisera, all three could be used for evaluation of Fhit expression in OSCC.