Introduction: Oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF) is a chronic disease that affects the oral cavity, characterized by inflammation, fibrosis, and loss of elasticity of the oral mucosa. Cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) is a non-collagenous extracellular matrix protein that has been shown to play a role in the development of fibrosis in various tissues, including the oral cavity. However, the expression of COMP in OSMF has not been well studied.

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the expression of COMP in a primary OSMF cell line in order to decipher its potential role in the development of OSMF.

Methods: Primary OSMF cell line were established from biopsy samples obtained from patients with OSMF. The expression of COMP was evaluated by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The COMP levels between passage-2 (P-2) and passage-10 (P-10) were also assessed.

Results: RT-PCR revealed that COMP was significantly overexpressed in primary OSMF cell line compared to normal oral mucosa cell lines. The COMP levels between passage-2 (P-2) and passage-10 (P-10) also showed significant difference.

Conclusions: Our results reveal that COMP is significantly overexpressed in OSMF cell line. These findings suggest that COMP may play a role in the development of OSMF and can act as a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of the disease.

Keywords: Oral submucous fibrosis; Primary cell line; Cartilage Oligomeric Matrix Protein