Experimental study on TGF‐β1‐mediated CD147 expression in oral submucous fibrosis

Objective Although previous evidence indicates that CD 147 is closely involved in the progression of organ fibrosis and various signaling pathways have been proven to regulate its expression, the role of CD 147 in oral submucous fibrosis ( OSF ) remains largely unknown. Methods In this study, we investigated the expression of CD 147 and transforming growth factor β1 ( TGF ‐β1) in human samples of an OSF tissue array by immunohistopathology. Pearson's correlation analysis was conducted to explore the correlation between CD 147 and TGF ‐β1. Immunofluorescence and Western blotting were used to investigate to levels of CD 147 in Human Oral Keratinocytes ( HOK s) followed by TGF ‐β1 or LY 2157299, an inhibitor of TGF ‐β1 receptor and arecoline stimulation. Results We found that CD 147 was highly expressed in both HOK s and the fibrotic oral mucosa and that this expression was correlated with TGF ‐β1 expression. Additionally, CD 147 levels were significantly associated with the fibrosis stage. The TGF ‐β1 signaling pathway was found to be mainly responsible for CD 147 up‐regulation after arecoline treatment whereas inhibition of TGF ‐β1 down‐regulated CD 147 expression. Conclusion Our findings suggest arecoline promotes CD 147 expression via the TGF ‐β1 signaling pathway in HOK s, whereas overexpression of CD 147 may promote OSF progression.