Desquamated Epithelial Cells of Unstimulated Human Whole Saliva Express Both EGF Transcript and Protein
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate if desquamated oral epithelial cells (DOECs) express the epidermal growth factor (EGF) and if these cells thereby may contribute to salivary EGF contents.BACKGROUND: DOECs have recently been shown to harbor the antimicrobial peptide LL-37, proposing that they may also store other biologically important salivary peptides/proteins. The EGF peptide