Immunohistochemical Study of GATA3, c-KIT/CD117, CD56 and CD45 Expression in Proliferative Verrucous Leukoplakia (PVL), PVL-Associated Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Oral Leukoplakia

Kalogirou, Eleni-Marina; Katsoulas, Nikolaos; Goutas, Dimitrios; Vasili, Konstantina; Mikoglou, Eleni; Tzanavari, Theodora; Tosios, Konstantinos I.

doi:10.3390/genes16111275

Open AccessArticle

Immunohistochemical Study of GATA3, c-KIT/CD117, CD56 and CD45 Expression in Proliferative Verrucous Leukoplakia (PVL), PVL-Associated Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Oral Leukoplakia

by

Eleni-Marina Kalogirou

^1,*

,

Nikolaos Katsoulas

^2,3,†,

Dimitrios Goutas

^2,3,†

,

Konstantina Vasili

^1,‡,

Eleni Mikoglou

^1,‡,

Theodora Tzanavari

¹ and

Konstantinos I. Tosios

⁴

¹

Faculty of Health Sciences, Metropolitan College, 15125 Athens, Greece

²

Istomedica Anatomic Pathology Laboratory, 11528 Athens, Greece

³

First Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece

⁴

School of Dentistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

^†

These authors contributed equally to this work.

^‡

These authors also contributed equally to this work.

Genes 2025, 16(11), 1275; https://doi.org/10.3390/genes16111275

Submission received: 30 August 2025 / Revised: 27 September 2025 / Accepted: 14 October 2025 / Published: 28 October 2025

(This article belongs to the Section Molecular Genetics and Genomics)

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Abstract

Background/Objectives: Proliferative verrucous leukoplakia (PVL) is an oral potentially malignant disorder characterized by a high risk for cancer development. Current evidence suggests that the evolution and malignant transformation of PVL is driven by a reciprocal crosstalk between the epithelial cells and the subepithelial immune microenvironment. The aim of the present study was to compare for the first time the immunohistochemical expression of the immune response-related proteins GATA-binding protein 3 (GATA3), c-KIT/cluster of differentiation (CD)117, CD56 and CD45 between PVL, PVL-associated oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and solitary (localized) oral leukoplakia (OL) cases. Methods: Thirty-six formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tissue specimens were used; sixteen from 8 patients with PVL, ten from 10 patients with PVL-OSCC and ten from 10 patients with OL. Immunohistochemistry was conducted using monoclonal primary antibodies against GATA3, c-KIT/CD117, CD56 and CD45. A semi-quantitative method was applied to score staining, and statistical analysis included Wilcoxon signed-rank test, Kruskal–Wallis test with Dunn’s post hoc test and Spearman’s correlation coefficient test. Results: A significantly decreased GATA3 expression was found in PVL-OSCC cases compared with PVL and OL cases. c-KIT/CD117 and CD56 proteins were consistently expressed in all study groups, while a significantly higher CD45 expression was noted in PVL than OL. No significant correlation between markers was found. Conclusions: These data collectively underscore an activated yet disturbed immune response that might be involved in the development and progression of malignancy in PVL that may also be considered as unique and interesting in vivo model of oral carcinogenesis.

Keywords: proliferative verrucous leukoplakia; oral leukoplakia; oral potentially malignant disorder; squamous cell carcinoma; GATA3; c-KIT; CD117; CD56; CD45; immunohistochemistry

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MDPI and ACS Style

Kalogirou, E.-M.; Katsoulas, N.; Goutas, D.; Vasili, K.; Mikoglou, E.; Tzanavari, T.; Tosios, K.I. Immunohistochemical Study of GATA3, c-KIT/CD117, CD56 and CD45 Expression in Proliferative Verrucous Leukoplakia (PVL), PVL-Associated Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Oral Leukoplakia. Genes 2025, 16, 1275. https://doi.org/10.3390/genes16111275

AMA Style

Kalogirou E-M, Katsoulas N, Goutas D, Vasili K, Mikoglou E, Tzanavari T, Tosios KI. Immunohistochemical Study of GATA3, c-KIT/CD117, CD56 and CD45 Expression in Proliferative Verrucous Leukoplakia (PVL), PVL-Associated Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Oral Leukoplakia. Genes. 2025; 16(11):1275. https://doi.org/10.3390/genes16111275

Chicago/Turabian Style

Kalogirou, Eleni-Marina, Nikolaos Katsoulas, Dimitrios Goutas, Konstantina Vasili, Eleni Mikoglou, Theodora Tzanavari, and Konstantinos I. Tosios. 2025. "Immunohistochemical Study of GATA3, c-KIT/CD117, CD56 and CD45 Expression in Proliferative Verrucous Leukoplakia (PVL), PVL-Associated Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Oral Leukoplakia" Genes 16, no. 11: 1275. https://doi.org/10.3390/genes16111275

APA Style

Kalogirou, E.-M., Katsoulas, N., Goutas, D., Vasili, K., Mikoglou, E., Tzanavari, T., & Tosios, K. I. (2025). Immunohistochemical Study of GATA3, c-KIT/CD117, CD56 and CD45 Expression in Proliferative Verrucous Leukoplakia (PVL), PVL-Associated Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Oral Leukoplakia. Genes, 16(11), 1275. https://doi.org/10.3390/genes16111275

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Immunohistochemical Study of GATA3, c-KIT/CD117, CD56 and CD45 Expression in Proliferative Verrucous Leukoplakia (PVL), PVL-Associated Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Oral Leukoplakia

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