Significance of podoplanin expression in normal and pathological conditions of the oral and maxillofacial regions

Podoplanin, a transmembrane glycoprotein that was originally detected in puromycin-induced nephrosis on the surface of rat podocytes, is expressed specifically by lymphatic endothelium. Recent studies have shown that the protein is expressed in a variety of normal as well as neoplastic tissues, and that its expression might be related to cell migration and invasion. In this review, we describe the expression and function of podoplanin under normal as well as pathological conditions of the oral and maxillofacial regions, and we discuss its significance.