Odontomas and ameloblastic fibro-odontomas (AFOs) are the result of a developmental anomaly of odontogenic tissues. A literature review of proteins immunoexpressed in odontomas and AFOs was conducted in order to determine which proteins are involved in the pathogenesis of these lesions. AFO was changed to early odontoma in the 2017 WHO classification and will also be discussed in this article. A literature search was performed in the following electronic databases: PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science, Scopus, EMBASE, Lilacs, Cochrane Collaboration Library, and Science Direct. The research question was developed according to the population, intervention, comparison, and outcome (PICO) framework: Which proteins are related to the differentiation of odontomas and what is their interrelationship with AFOs? Thirty articles met all inclusion criteria and were selected for this systematic review, totaling 355 cases of odontomas and 43 cases of AFO. Similar immunoexpression was observed in odontomas and AFOs. Immunoexpression of proteins involved in cell differentiation was higher in compound odontomas than in complex odontomas. Proteins involved in histodifferentiation and enamel formation were more frequent in odontomas. The immunoexpression of enamel matrix proteins differs between odontomas and tooth germs, with their persistence being related to the development of odontomas. Compound odontomas exhibit the highest immunoexpression of proteins involved in cellular histodifferentiation and the Wnt/beta-catenin pathway is involved in tumor formation.
Keywords: Immunohistochemistry; Odontoma; Pathogenesis; Tumor.
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