Molecular Mechanism of Oral Submucous Fibrosis induced by Arecoline: A Literature Review

Oral Submucous Fibrosis (OSMF) is an oral mucosal disease with lamina propria collagen hyperplasia as the main pathological change, which belongs to Oral Potentially Malignant Disorders (OPMDs). Areca nut is identified as a class I carcinogen with complex components. Arecoline is the main component of areca nut which plays an important role in the pathogenesis of OSMF. Through the review of literature, it is shown that arecoline can lead to the change in level of cytokines in oral mucosa, which further leads to the imbalance of collagen metabolism. This article reviews the molecular mechanism research progress of arecoline in promoting the pathogenesis of OSMF in recent years, including Transforming Growth Factor-β (TGF-β) and Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) associated with increased collagen production, Matrix Metalloproteinase (MMP) and Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase (TIMP) associated with reduced collagen degradation, hypoxia and microvascular related factors and in order to provide reference for the treatment of the disease at the molecular level.