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Updated: Aug 17, 2026

Detection and Isolation of Apoptotic Bodies to High Purity
Published on: August 12, 2018
Apoptosis in epithelial cells of apical radicular cysts
A M Loyola1, S V Cardoso, G S Lisa
1Oral Pathology Laboratory, School of Dentistry, Federal University of Uberlândia, Brazil.
Aim:
To investigate the occurrence of apoptotic cell death in the epithelium of radicular cysts and to compare its frequency in lesions presenting a distinct functional state.
Methodology:
Twenty radicular cysts were selected and arranged into two groups with 10 lesions in each group: atrophic (quiescent) and hyperplastic (active) epithelium. Morphologic investigations of apoptosis were conducted by means of optic microscopy in haematoxylin and eosin slides. Immunohistochemical techniques to detect the bcl-2 protein were carried out by streptavidin-biotin-peroxidase assay. In both instances, 30 sequential high-power microscopic fields were observed to determine apoptotic (AI) and bcl-2 immunostaining (bcl-2I) indexes. The presence of AI and bcl-2I within the two groups was compared using the t-test. Correlation between the AI and the bcl-2I was investigated using the Spearman test.
Results:
Apoptosis was detected in the epithelium of all cysts. Higher AI levels were found in lesions with an atrophic (0.17 +/- 0.19) rather than a hyperplastic (0.10 +/- 0.10) epithelium. The same was found for the bcl-2I levels (0.06 +/- 0.03 vs. 0.04 +/- 0.01, respectively). However, these differences were not statistically significant. A positive and significant correlation was found between AI and bcl-2I.
Conclusions:
Apoptosis was always present in the epithelium of the lesions and was more frequent in lesions with atrophic (quiescent) epithelium.
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