Immuno-histochemical expression of p53 protein and iNOS in odontogenic cysts

Abstract

Objective: The present study investigated the expression of p53 protein and iNOS in odontogenic keratocysts (OKCs), dentigerous cysts (DCs) and radicular cysts (RCs) and determined the correlation of these 2 proteins within each cyst type. Material and Method: p53 and iNOS in epithelial lining cells were analyzed in 20 OKCs, 20 DCs and 20 RCs using immuno-histochemistry. The percentage of positive cells was assessed and presented as mean ± SD. The correlation between the expressions of these 2 proteins in each cyst was carried out using Spearman correlation analysis. Results: p53 was found in 95% of OKCs, 50% of DCs and 65% of RCs. p53-positive cells in OKCs (12.2 ± 8.8%) were significantly higher than those in DCs (1.4 ± 3.2%) and RCs (1.3 ± 2.4%). iNOS was found in all examined lesions. Statistically, iNOS-positive cells in RCs (86.9 + 9.9%) were lower than those in OKCs (94.8 ± 3.5%) and DCs (96.1 ± 4.4%). No correlation between the expression of p53 and iNOS was found in each cyst. Conclusion: p53 was over expressed in OKCs compared with other lesions. RCs showed the lowest expression of iNOS.