[Histopathological and immunohistochemical investigations of chronic periapical inflammations of permanent teeth]

Histopathological investigations were done in 72 cases of periapical granulomas and 9 cases of periapical cysts demonstrating that both granulomas and cysts were composed of granulation tissue varying in maturity. Immunohistochemical studies by the peroxidase method PAP showed the presence of light chains (kappa and lambda) and heavy chains (IgA, IgM, IgG, IgE). In the chronic inflammatory infiltrates of granulomas and cysts plasma cells with IgG prevailed. These observations suggest that specific immune reactions participate in the pathological mechanism of chronic periapical inflammatory processes.