NQO1 C609T (Pro187Ser) increases risk of carcinogenesis of Oral Submucous Fibrosis by interacting with phosphorylated p53 and cyclin D1
Oral submucous fibrosis (OSF) is a debilitating disease mainly attributed to chewing areca nut with a 7.4-13% malignant transformation rate. Present study explores the role of NADPH quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) C609T (Pro187Ser) polymorphism in susceptibility to OSF among habitual areca nut chewers in an eastern Indian population. Overall, about 18% of the total OSF cases were detected carrying minor TT allele (Ser/Ser) p=0.026. When categorized by age, both CT (Pro/Ser) and TT (Ser/Ser) alleles were significantly higher (p= 0.003 & 0.004 respectively) in cases above 40years of age. NQO1 protein was 42% reduced in buccal tissues of heterozygous (Pro/Ser) carriers, whereas a 70% reduction was observed in TT (Ser/Ser) OSF cases. Our study suggests that the NQO1 C609T polymorphism confers increased risk for OSF in habitual chewers.