Overexpression of bcl‐2 protein inhibits terminal differentiation of oral keratinocytes in vitro

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Abstract
Harada H, Mitsuyasu T, Seta Y. Maruoka Y, Toyoshima K, Yasumoto S: Overexpression of bcl‐2 protein inhibits terminal differentiation of oral keratinocytes in vitro. J Oral Pathol Med 1998; 27: 11–7. © Munksgaard, 1998. The bcl‐2 proto‐oncogene is a known inhibitor of apoptosis; in normal human stratified squamous epithelium, its expression is restricted to the basal cell layer. To investigate the functional role of bcl‐2 protein in the process of differentiation of oral keratinocytes, bcl‐2 expression vector was transfected into SCC‐25 cells, which normally undergo squamous cell differentiation in vitro while expressing specific differentiation markers, e.g., keratin 10/11 and involucrin. In bcl‐2 transfected SCC‐25 cells, the expression of these differentiation markers was markedly suppressed. The bcl‐2 proto‐oncogene may play a critical role in opposing the commitment to terminal differentiation and apoptosis of oral keratinocytes.