title: Immunohistochemical analysis of myofibroblasts, TGF-β1, and IFN-γ in epithelial odontogenic lesions.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the presence of myofibroblasts (MFBs) in epithelial odontogenic lesions by immunohistochemistry and to correlate the findings with tumor aggressiveness, as well as to analyze the expression of TGF-β1 and IFN-γ during the differentiation of these cells.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty solid ameloblastomas (SAs), 10 unicystic ameloblastomas (UAs), 20 keratocystic odontogenic tumors (KCOTs), and 20 adenomatoid odontogenic tumors (AOTs) were selected. For evaluation of the presence of MFBs, anti-α-SMA-immunoreactive cells were quantified in connective tissue near the epithelium. The expression of TGF-β1 and IFN-γ was evaluated in epithelial and connective tissue by determining the percentage of immunoreactive cells. A higher concentration of MFBs was observed in SAs (mean of 30.55), followed by KCOTs (22.50), UAs (20.80), and AOTs (19.15) (P = 0.001). There was no significant correlation between the immunoexpression of TGF-β1 or IFN-γ and the number of MFBs (P > 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The larger number of MFBs suggests that these cells are one of the factors responsible for the more aggressive biological behavior of these lesions. The lack of correlation between the number of MFBs and immunoexpression of TGF-β1 and IFN-γ indicates that these proteins are not involved in the differentiation of this type of contractile cell in the lesions studied and that only the use of immunohistochemistry to establish such a correlation is a limiting factor.
authors.affiliation: Department of Morphology, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil.|Oral Pathology Post Graduate Program, Department of Dentistry, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil.
authors.forename: Pedro Paulo de Andrade
authors.initials: PPA
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.affiliation: Department of Dentistry, State University of Paraíba, Campina Grande, PB, Brazil.
authors.forename: Cassiano Francisco Weege
authors.initials: CFW
authors.lastname: Nonaka
authors.affiliation: Oral Pathology Post Graduate Program, Department of Dentistry, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil.
authors.forename: Roseana de Almeida
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Freitas
authors.affiliation: Oral Pathology Post Graduate Program, Department of Dentistry, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil.
authors.forename: Leão
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pereira Pinto
authors.affiliation: Oral Pathology Post Graduate Program, Department of Dentistry, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil.
authors.forename: Lélia Batista de
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Souza
mesh_terms: D000564:Ameloblastoma / Q000473:pathology; D004848:Epithelium / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000378:metabolism*; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D058628:Myofibroblasts / Q000473:pathology*; D009808:Odontogenic Tumors / Q000473:pathology*; D053773:Transforming Growth Factor beta1 / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D053773:Transforming Growth Factor beta1; D007371:Interferon-gamma
keywords: adenomatoid odontogenic tumor; ameloblastoma; immunohistochemistry; keratocystic odontogenic tumor; myofibroblasts