Browsing by Author "Kannan, Ranganathan"

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    Detection and Quantification of Epstein Barr Virus in Saliva and Subgingival Plaque in Paediatric Patients with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
    (Kairali Society of Oral & Maxillofacial Pathologists, 2024-01) Karthik, Shunmugavelu; Kannan, Ranganathan; Uma, Devi K Rao; Elizabeth, Joshua; Rooban, Thavarajah
    Background: Epstein Barr virus (EBV), an oncogenic human herpes virus, has been associated with malignant tumours of epithelial cells and B lymphocytes. Active replication in blood has been reported in 32% of Indian children with ALL by real time PCR. Epstein Barr virus is released into saliva from epithelial cells and saliva is known to play an important role in transmission of Epstein Barr virus. This study was designed to detect, quantify and assess the Epstein Barr virus in saliva and subgingival plaque of paediatric patients with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and compare with controls. There are reports where EBV had been detected and quantified in saliva in hematopoietic malignancies other than ALL. There are no reported studies that have detected and quantified EBV in saliva and subgingival plaque samples. Aim: To study the presence of Epstein Barr virus in saliva and subgingival plaque of paediatric patients with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia Objective: To assess the prevalence of Epstein Barr virus in saliva and subgingival plaque of paediatric patients with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia using quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction. Material and Methods: EBV DNA extraction was done from unstimulated saliva and subgingival plaque samples from healthy paediatric individuals (n=20) and paediatric patients with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (n=20), as per the protocol of the Indigenous SmartPrepTM Genomic DNA Extraction Kit. The extracted DNA was subjected to quantitative real time Polymerase Chain Reaction (q-rtPCR) to detect and quantify EBV. Results: Statistically significant difference was observed between ALL and controls with respect to age, height, weight, haemoglobin, red blood cell count, white blood cell count, platelet count and mean oral hygiene index. EBV was detected in 4 cases of saliva samples of ALL patients above the threshold value and all these 4 patients also presented with acute respiratory infections. There was a statistical significant difference between the two groups on comparison of threshold values (> 6.841) of final qPCR amplification plot (0.035). Mean EBV viral load in saliva samples in Group I (N=20) was 103812 ± 164452.2040 copies/ml and Group II (N=20) was 88464.0 ± 177418.3829 copies/ml. Statistically significant difference (p=0.004) was observed in the study groups with respect to EBV viral load. Conclusion: EBV is present in some ALL patients and should be considered as a factor associated with systemic morbidity. Further studies are needed to ascertain a causal relationship, if any, between EBV and ALL in paediatric patients.
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    Immunohistochemical detection of human telomerase reverse transcriptase in oral cancer and pre-cancer.
    (2011-03) Palani, Jayanthi; Lakshminarayanan, Vidya; Kannan, Ranganathan
    Purpose: Telomerase is a specialized ribonucleoprotein complex that stabilizes telomeres by adding "TAG" repeats to the end of chromosomes. The catalytic subunit of telomerase is human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT), whose expression is the critical determinant of telomerase activity. Telomeres and telomerases play an important role in the longevity of cell and are known to conform "immortalization" on neoplastic cells. Although there exists a lot of information on telomerase in oral cancer, very little is known about their expression in leukoplakia and oral submucous fibrosis (OSF). This study addresses this lacuna. Materials and Methods: In this preliminary study, immunohistochemistry (IHC) was used to detect the expression of hTERT protein in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) (n=30), leukoplakia (n=15), OSF (n=15) and normal oral mucosa (n=10). The cellular localization of immunostain, intensity of stain, mean nuclear labeling index (LI) and mean nuclear labeling score (LS) of hTERT protein were studied. A total number of 1000 cells were counted in each slide. All the data were analyzed using SPSS software version 10.0.2. The cellular localization of cytoplasmic/nuclear/both of hTERT stain, staining intensity and LI were compared across the groups using Pearson's χ2 test. The mean LI and LS for OSF, leukoplakia, OSCC and normal were compared using analysis of variance (ANOVA). A P-value <0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results: The mean nuclear LI increased from OSF (22.46±4.53), through normal (28.3±12.3) to OSCC (47.56±21.30) (P=0.002) and from normal (28.3±12.3), through leukoplakia (44.06±14.6), to OSCC (47.56±21.30) (P=0.00). The mean nuclear labeling score was observed to increase from OSF (37.8±15), through normal (64.9±30.7), to OSCC samples (106.9±29.77) (P=0.00) and from normal (64.9±30.7), through leukoplakia (85.6±25.1) to OSCC samples (106.9±29.77) (P=0.00). Conclusion: There was increased expression of hTERT protein in OSCC and leukoplakia samples when compared to normal oral mucosa. The cellular localization, LI and LS in OSF were significantly different from OSCC and leukoplakia.