Molecular Pathogenesis of Oral Submucous Fibrosis: A Critical Appraisal

Arpita Rai^1,3⁎, Musarrat Siddiqui², Shama Parveen³, Saba Parveen², Abdur Rasheed² and Sher Ali³

¹Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology, Dental Institute, Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences, Ranchi

²Faculty of Dentistry, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi.110025

³Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Basic Sciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi

Corresponding Author E-mail: arai@jmi.ac.in

Abstract: Oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF) is a chronic, potentially malignant condition of the oral mucosa and the habitual chewing of areca nut is believed to be the most potent etiological factor. The role of reactive oxygen species (ROS), epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and various cytokines and growth factors has been established in recent studies. The components of areca nut particularly, arecoline, flavonoids and copper have been found to affect fibroblasts, endothelial and epithelial cells through various biological pathways which are either down-regulated or up-regulated during different stages of the disease. However, the underlying molecular pathogenesis of OSMF is still partially understood.

Keywords: oral submucous fibrosis; OSF, OSMF; reactive oxygen species; TGF; EMT

[ HTML Full Text]

Back to TOC