Immunohistochemical expression of GLUT-1, GLUT-3, and carbonic anhydrase IX in benign odontogenic lesions

Some benign odontogenic lesions have a distinct biological behavior with high recurrence rates and local aggressive behavior. To determine whether glucose transporters proteins (GLUT-1 and GLUT-3) and carbonic anhydrase IX (CA IX) are associated with the development of as dentigerous cyst (DC), odontogenic keratocyst (OK), and ameloblastoma (AM), we evaluated the immunohistochemical expression of these proteins in these lesions.

Immunoexpression of GLUT-1, GLUT-3, and CA IX was evaluated semiquantitative fields in each of the 20 cases of OK, AM, and DC. The cases were classified according to the scores: 0 (0% positive cells), 1 (<10% of positive cells), 2 (10-50% of positive cells), and 3 (>50% of positive cells). The statistical analysis was performed using Pearson's chi-square, Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests.

All cases were positive for GLUT-1 and 65% of OK showed scored 3. Staining was diffuse in 90% of OK and 85% of DC cases (P < 0.001). In 50% of OK and AM, staining was only observed in the membrane (P = 0.01). Most of the samples (66.7%) were negative for GLUT-3. Staining intensity for anhydrase was higher in the epithelium of DC when compared to OK (P = 0.01). Strong staining was observed in 55% of DC and 20% of OK samples (P = 0.01).

These results suggest that GLUT-1 may be involved in the metabolic regulation of glucose in odontogenic lesions studied. In addition, CA IX appears to influence the development of AM, OK, and DC which can explain the differences their biological behavior.