TWIST AND E-CADERINE IMMUNOEXPRESSION IN ACTINIC CHEILITES
Actinic cheilitis. Immunohistochemistry. Twist Transcription Factor. Cadherins.
The actinic cheilite (AC), also called actinic keylosis or solar cheilitis, is a chronic inflammatory reaction that is associated with excessive chronic exposure to ultraviolet radiation, especially UVB, and mainly affects the lower lip. An AC has the same risk factors as lower lip squamous cells carcinoma (SCC) and may represent a precocious stage of lip carcinogenesis. Thus, knowledge of molecular mechanisms may help in understanding the progression of AC to lower lip SCC. In this context, one of the biological markers that have been recently studied is Twist, a highly conserved transcription factor that belongs to the helix-loop-helix (HLH), which through the negative regulation of E-cadherin acts as a great regulator of the mesenchymal phenotype. Little is known about the role of Twist in potentially malignant oral lesions, however, recent studies have shown that this transcription factor appears to be involved in the oral carcinogenesis process in its early stages. Faced with the facts, it is important to verify if these proteins are involved in the pathogenesis of lip carcinogenesis. Thus, this research proposes an evaluation of immunoexpression of Twist and E-cadherin in ACs, as well as verify whether this expression is associated with the morphological progression of these lesions.