Immunohistochemical profile of integrins in enlarged dental follicles and dentigerous cysts

Objective and study designThe morphological distinction between incipient dentigerous cyst (IDC) and enlarged pericoronal dental follicle (EDF) remains one of the most controversial questions in the literature. The objective of this study was to analyze the immunohistochemistry expression of alfa2beta1, alfa3beta1, and alfa5beta1 in 23 cases of EDFs and 21 cases of IDCs.ResultsAll integrins were immunopositive in the cases studied. A significant difference was detected regarding alfa2beta1 integrin (P < .0001) in which a higher expression was present in IDCs. Moreover, statistical difference was also found between basal and suprabasal cell layer in cystic epithelium (P < .0034). The alfa3beta1 integrin expression showed significant difference (P < .013) between EDF and IDC with a tendency of more pronounced staining in IDC.ConclusionsThese results corroborate the possibility of histopathological distinction between EDF and IDC in which squamous metaplasia of reduced enamel epithelium to stratified epithelium would be the first event of cystic transformation.