Immunohistochemical Expression of Invadopodia‐Associated Proteins in Subtypes of Unicystic Ameloblastoma
OBJECTIVE: This study aims to investigate the expression of invadopodia-associated proteins-HIF-1α, NOTCH-1, ADAM-12, and HB-EGF-across different histological subtypes of unicystic ameloblastomas (UA) to assess their invasiveness under hypoxic conditions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Immunohistochemical analysis was performed on 29 UA samples, 9 conventional ameloblastomas (CAM), and 9 dental follicles (DF). RESULTS: Mural unicystic ameloblastomas (MUA) exhibited significantly higher immunoexpression of all proteins compared to luminal (LUA) and intraluminal (IUA) subtypes (p < 0.0001). Neoplastic cells in the cystic capsule of MUA also showed greater expression of these proteins than those in the lumen. Conventional ameloblastomas demonstrated lower expression of NOTCH-1, ADAM-12, and HIF-1α compared to the MUA cystic capsule cells. Dental follicles had the lowest immunostaining of all groups. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that hypoxia may contribute to more aggressive behavior in MUA, potentially enhancing its invasive capacity compared to LUA and IUA.
Authors
- Ana Paula Neutzling Gomes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2214-5246)
- João de Jesus Viana Pinheiro (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6914-6441)
- Sérgio De Melo Alves
- Douglas Magno Guimarães (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7856-1324)
- Antonia Taiane Lopes de Moraes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2719-3634)
- Gabriela Cristina Avertano Rocha da Silveira
- Ruy Gastaldoni Jaeger (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1564-0356)
- Adriana Etges (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6066-869X)
- Rebeca Vieira Costa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8784-5473)
- Maria Sueli da Silva Kataoka (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9650-1034)
- Vera Cavalcanti de Araújo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4087-889X)
- Fabricio Passador SANTOS
- Vanessa Morais Freitas
- Andrew Mark Smith
- Flavia Letícia Magalhães Lemos
Institutions
- Universidade Federal de Pelotas (BR)
- Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP) (BR)
- Universidade do Estado do Pará (BR)
- Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Pará (BR)
- Faculdade São Leopoldo Mandic (BR)
- Eastman Dental Hospital (GB)
- Institute of Biomedical Science (GB)
- University College London (GB)
- Universidade Federal do Pará (BR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Oral Diseases
- Published
- 2026-04-06
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1111/odi.70338
- Primary Topic
- Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00