Expression of the elk-1 gene in various mouse organs and in human oral precancerous lesions and squamous cell carcinomas

Abstract

The elk-1 oncogene is a member of the ets family and regulates gene expression in a variety of biological processes. We used molecular biological techniques to investigate he ex-pression pattern of the elk-1 gene in mice and in human oral precancerous lesions and squamous cell carcinomas. Expression of elk-1 mRNA was moderate in erythroplakia and leukoplakia, weak in normal gingive, and pronounced in squamous cell carcinomas. In addition, elk-1 mRNA was detected in mice from 8 to 12 days of gestation. It was weak in the ovaries, and was not detected in the intestine, stomach, uterus, kidney, spleen, liver or testes.These re-sults suggest that elk-1 may play an important role in the embryo and in development of oral precancerous lesions and squamous cell carcinomas.