Abstract: Objective To study the expression of p16 and Rb proteins in lesions of patients with high arsenic coal poisoning. Methods Immunohistochemistry was used to assess p16 and Rb proteins expression in 46 cases of high arsenic coalpoisoning. Results Lack of expression of p16 protein was found in 59.7% of the patients. Expression of p16 protein decreased along with the aggravation of lesions and correlated signficantly with pathological types and clinical grades(P<0.01). Expression of Rb protein was identified in 60.9%of patients, and correlated with clinical grades(P<0.05). There was aninverse correlation between expression of p16 protein and that of Rb protein. Conclusion Down-regulation of p16 protein expression and inactivation of p16-Rb route may play an important role in the development of skin lesions of high arsenic coal poisoning.

Key words: Arsenic poisoning, Protein p16, Retinoblastoma protein