Immunoexpression of CXCL12 and CXCR4 in sporadic and Gorlin-Goltz syndrome-related odontogenic keratocysts

Wliana-Pontes de Lima; Allany-de Oliveira Andrade; Roberta-Barroso Cavalcante; Renato-Luiz-Maia Nogueira; Pollianna-Muniz Alves; Cassiano-Francisco-Weege Nonaka; Manuel-Antonio Gordón-Núñez

doi:10.4317/jced.59561

Immunoexpression of CXCL12 and CXCR4 in sporadic and Gorlin-Goltz syndrome-related odontogenic keratocysts

J Clin Exp Dent. 2022 May 1;14(5):e426-e432. doi: 10.4317/jced.59561. eCollection 2022 May.

Authors

Wliana-Pontes de Lima¹, Allany-de Oliveira Andrade¹, Roberta-Barroso Cavalcante², Renato-Luiz-Maia Nogueira³, Pollianna-Muniz Alves¹, Cassiano-Francisco-Weege Nonaka¹, Manuel-Antonio Gordón-Núñez¹

Affiliations

¹ Universidade Estadual da Paraíba - UEPB, Department of Dentistry, Campina Grande, PB, Brazil.
² Universidade de Fortaleza - UNIFOR, Department of Oral Pathology, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil.
³ Universidade Federal do Ceará - UFC, Department of Dental Clinic, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil.

Abstract

Background: Differences in the pathogenesis and biological behavior of sporadic and Gorlin-Goltz syndrome-related odontogenic keratocysts (OKCs) have been reported, but the underlying mechanisms are not fully elucidated. Chemokine CXCL12 and its main receptor CXCR4 regulate important events in the pathogenesis of several lesions.

Material and methods: This study evaluated the immunoexpression of CXCL12 and CXCR4 in sporadic and syndromic OKCs. Twenty-two sporadic OKCs and 22 syndromic OKCs were subjected to immunohistochemistry. The percentages of cytoplasmic (CXCL12 and CXCR4) and nuclear (CXCR4) staining in epithelial and fibrous capsule cells were determined. The results were analyzed statistically using the nonparametric Mann-Whitney test and Spearman correlation test (p<0.05).

Results: Higher cytoplasmic expression of CXCL12 was observed in the epithelial lining and fibrous capsule of sporadic OKCs compared to syndromic OKCs (p<0.001). No statistically significant differences in the cytoplasmic expression of CXCR4 were observed between syndromic OKCs and sporadic OKCs (p>0.05). Compared to syndromic OKCs, sporadic OKCs exhibited higher nuclear expression of CXCR4 in the epithelial lining and lower immunoexpression in the fibrous capsule (p<0.05). In the epithelial lining of syndromic OKCs, positive correlation was observed between cytoplasmic and nuclear expressions of CXCR4 (p=0.003). In the fibrous capsule of syndromic OKCs and sporadic OKCs, cytoplasmic and nuclear expressions of CXCR4 were positively correlated (p<0.001).

Conclusions: The results suggest a potential participation of CXCL12 and CXCR4 in the development of OKCs. The heterogeneous expression of these proteins in syndromic and sporadic OKCs may reflect differences in their pathogenesis and biological behavior. Key words:Odontogenic keratocyst, CXCL12, CXCR4, Immunohistochemistry.