Immunoreactivity of ATF-2 and Fra-2 in human dental follicle

It is asserted that epithelial rests in dental follicle (DF) existing around the impacted teeth in adults are effective in cyst formation. In this study, it is intended for determining and comparing the immunoreactivity (IR) ratio of ATF-2 and Fra-2 proteins, the members of Activator Protein-1 (AP-1) family which regulates important cellular activities such as growth, proliferation and differentiation, in DF epithelial cells (EC) and connective tissue cells (CC). In this study, ATF-2 and Fra-2 immunoreactivity (ATF-2-IR and Fra-2-IR) in EC and CC in DF tissues obtained from 30 patients were analyzed by using immunohistochemical method. Ratios of ATF-2-IR positive cells were found 17.36+/-9.55% in EC, 27.27+/-14.86% in CC and ratios of Fra-2-IR positive cells were found 20.04+/-11.47% in EC, 16.71+/-9.05% in CC. In the statistically comparison performed; significant differences were found between EC and CC in terms of both ATF-2-IR (p<0.001) and Fra-2-IR (p<0.05). In EC, no significant difference was found between ATF-2-IR and Fra-2-IR (p>0.05), whereas significant difference was found between ATF-2-IR and Fra-2-IR in CC (p<0.001). According to these data, it can be suggested that Fra-2 protein may be more effective than ATF-2 protein in cyst formation originated from EC of DF. Besides, finding that ATF-2-IR and Fra-2-IR are different in CC although similar in EC shows that AP-1 members can be expressed at different ratios in same tissues.