Effect of chronic alcohol ingestion on buccal mucosal expression of bFGF and Cdk2 during ulcer healing.

In this study, we investigated the effect of chronic alcohol ingestion on the interplay between the receptor-bound basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF-R) and the expression of cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk2) in buccal mucosa during ulcer healing. Chronic ulceration was induced by a topical application of acetic acid to the buccal mucosa of rats maintained for 5 weeks on alcohol-containing or control liquid diet. In both groups, the ulcer healing was accompanied by an increase in buccal mucosal expression of bFGF and Cdk2. In the control group, the ulcer healed within 10 days and maximum induction in bFGF (2.6-fold) and Cdk2 (2.4-fold) occurred by the 2nd day of healing. In contrast, the alcohol diet group showed a marked delay in ulcer healing (14 days), associated with the shift in maximum of bFGF and Cdk2 expression to the 4-6th day, and the values were reduced by 35 to 38%. The findings show that chronic alcohol ingestion exerts detrimental effect on the signaling events initiated by bFGF-receptor activation and propagated by Cdk2 that propels the cell cycle progression essential for rapid mucosal repair.