Tissue binding patterns of eight different lectins in normal, leukoplakic and malignant lesions of the oral cavity

Abstract

The present investigation was undertaken to assess the binding characteristics of eight different lectins on normal mucosa (11 cases), Leukoplakia (5 cases) and squamous cell carcinoma (12 cases) by the use of biotinylated lectins and avidin biotin peroxidase complex. The lectins employed were soybean (SBA), peanut (PNA) Dolichos biflorus (DBA) Concanavalin A (CON A), Wheat germ (WGA), ulex Europeus(UEA), Ricinus communic (RCA) and Lotus tetragonolobus (LTA). It was noticed that SBA, DBA, WGA, UEA, RCA and LTA showed intense to high binding in normal oral mucosa but absent or very weak binding in squamous cell carcinoma. PNA on the contrary had a weak binding to normal mucosal epithelial cells but strong binding to malignant cells. The Leukoplakic mucosa had an intermediate binding pattern. The Lectin CON A was not bound at all or seen in very low concentration in the malignant cells and leukoplakic epithelium but showed weak bindng in the normal mucosa. Hence it appears that Lectin binding studies may provide information about functional differences between cells as the result of normal maturation or pathological changes.