Title
In vitro evaluation of oxidative stress and p53 expression in oral epithelial cells exposed to tobacco extract
Authors
Dhruval Acharya1,*, Amberpreet Kaur Khangura2, Priya Marathe3, Nilesh Dinesh Pardhe4, Kshipra Chandrakant Deshpande5 & Carrolene Langpoklakpam6
Affiliation
1Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, K.M. Shah Dental College and Hospital, Sumandeep Vidyapeeth Deemed to be University, Gujarat, India; 2Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Pathology and Oral Microbiology, Dr Harvansh Singh Judge Institute of dental sciences and hospital, Panjab University, Chandigarh, India; 3Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology, Late Shri Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial Medical and Rural Development Foundation's Dental College and Hospital, Ahilyanagar, Maharashtra, India; 4Department of Oral Pathology, ESIC Dental College & Hospital, Kalaburagi, Karnataka, India; 5Department of Oral Pathology and microbiology, Dr. HSRSM'S Dental College and Hospital Hingoli Basamba phata Akola road, Hingoli, Maharashtra, India; 6Department of Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry, Manav Rachna Dental College, Manav Rachna International institute of Research and Studies, Faridabad, Haryana, India; *Corresponding author
Dhruval Acharya - E-mail: acharyadhruval@gmail.com
Amberpreet Kaur Khangura - E-mail: amber2814@gmail.com
Priya Marathe - E-mail: priyamarathe411@gmail.com
Nilesh Dinesh Pardhe - E-mail: drpardhenilesh@gmail.com
Kshipra Chandrakant Deshpande - E-mail: drkshipradeshpande@gmail.com
Carrolene Langpoklakpam - E-mail: carro.langpok@gmail.com
Article Type
Research Article
Date
Received July 1, 2026; Revised July 31, 2026; Accepted July 31, 2026, Published July 31, 2026
Abstract
Early molecular damage induced by tobacco exposure often occurs before clinically visible oral mucosal lesions develop, making reliable biomarkers for early detection essential. Therefore, it is of interest to expose the cultured human oral epithelial cells to aqueous tobacco extract (0%, 2.5%, 5%, 10% and 20%) for 24 and 48 hours, followed by assessment of cell viability, reactive oxygen species (ROS), malondialdehyde (MDA), antioxidant enzyme activity and p53 expression. Cell viability decreased from 97.8 ± 3.9% in controls to 48.6 ± 6.8% at 20% extract after 48 hours, accompanied by significant concentration- and time-dependent increases in ROS and MDA levels (p<0.001). Immunocytochemical p53 positivity increased from 5.8 ± 2.4% in controls to 54.7 ± 8.1% at 20% extract after 48 hours and showed strong positive correlations with ROS (r=0.86) and MDA (r=0.82). Thus, data shows that tobacco extract induced significant oxidative stress and p53 upregulation in oral epithelial cells, highlighting the potential of redox-related molecular markers for early detection of tobacco-associated epithelial injury.
Keywords
Oral epithelial cells, tobacco extract, oxidative stress, p53, reactive oxygen species (ROS), in vitro study
Citation
Acharya et al. Bioinformation 22(7): 4402-4407 (2026)
Edited by
Hiroj Bagde
ISSN
0973-2063
Publisher
License
This is an Open Access article which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. This is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.
