Jornal de Biomarcadores Moleculares e Diagnóstico

Cyclin D1: An Insight into its Physio-Pathological Role in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Abstract

Swati Saawarn, Nisheeth Saawarn, Madhusudan Astekar, Megha Jain and Anish Gupta

Cyclins and Cyclin dependent kinases (CDK’s) are proteins which act as positive regulators of the cell cycle at its various check points. The different cyclins attain peak activity during different phases of cell cycle and Cyclin D1 regulates transition from G1 to S phase of mitotic cell cycle. Due to this crucial role in cell cycle regulation, cyclins play an important role in carcinogenesis. Deregulated or over-expression of Cyclin D1 may lead to shortening of G1 phase, increased cell proliferation and reduced dependency on growth factors leading to disturbance in the normal cell cycle control and tumour formation. This short communication is a brief review about its role in head and neck carcinomas.