Differential Distribution of Immunohistochemically Detected Keratin Proteins in Mammalian Oral Epithelia

Abstract

Keratin proteins were immunohistochemically demonstrated in different parts of the oral epithelium. Keratin staining in the squamous-cell epithelium was restricted to the spinous and granular cell layers, with a comparatively low reaction in the basal layer cells and none in the superficial cornified layer. In comparing the keratin staining levels, those in the buccal and sublingual epithelia were rather higher than those in the hard palatal epithelia. Staining intensities for keratin proteins were not the same in either different locations of the oral epithelium or in the same location in different animals.