E-cadherin expression in the tongue epithelium of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats: an exploratory study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.2340/aos.v84.43564Keywords:
E-cadherin, epithelium, diabetes mellitus, diabetic complications, streptozotocinAbstract
Objective: Little was found on the association between diabetes and its effect on epithelial intercellular adhesion. However, no study reported the association between hyperglycemia and E-cadherin-mediated cell adhesion in tongue epithelium. This study aimed to explore the potential impacts of hyperglycemia on the epithelial E-cadherin expression in the tongue’s epithelial tissue in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats.
Material and methods: Twelve male Wistar albino rats were randomly allocated into control and STZ-induced diabetic groups. At the 5-week post-STZ injection, rats were euthanized, and the tongues were harvested and preserved in formalin. Epithelial thickness was assessed using hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining, while immunohistochemistry (IHC) was employed to analyze the expression of E-cadherin. Statistical analysis was performed using unpaired t-tests and two-proportion Z-tests, with a significance level determined at p < 0.05.
Results: The results showed a significant reduction in epithelial thickness in the dorsal tongue of STZ-diabetic rats compared to the control group (p = 0.0173). Additionally, E-cadherin expression in the dorsal tongue epithelium was markedly weaker in the diabetic group than in the control (p < 0.0001).
Conclusions: This exploratory study is the first to report that hyperglycemia reduces E-cadherin expression in the dorsal tongue epithelium, possibly contributing to oral epithelial alterations observed in diabetes. These findings not only highlight the potential diagnostic value of E-cadherin as a biomarker for oral complications in diabetic patients but also provide a foundation for future translational and clinical studies exploring therapeutic interventions targeting epithelial integrity in diabetes
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Copyright (c) 2025 Hassan Hamed Kaabi, Abdullah Mohamed Alsoghier, Islam Abdulrahim Alredah, Rayan Mohammed Alqahtani, Ibrahim Suliman Alsanie, Hanan Abdulgafour Balto
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Acta Odontologica Scandinavica publishes original research papers as well as critical reviews relevant to the diagnosis, epidemiology, health service, prevention, aetiology, pathogenesis, pathology, physiology, microbiology, development and treatment of diseases affecting tissues of the oral cavity and associated structures including papers on cause and effect or explanatory/associative relationships for experimental or observational studies.
