Comparative immunohistochemical analysis of WT-1, Syndecan and Snail in Ameloblastoma and odontogenic keratocyst: A retrospective study.

Background: The purpose of this experimental study was to evaluate and compare the degree of expression of Wilm's Tumor Gene-1 (WT-1), Syndecan (CD 138) and Snail in Ameloblastoma and odontogenic keratocyst (OKC) and to analyse their potential role in pathogenesis. Methods and Material: Immunohistochemical analysis was performed to evaluate WT-1, Syndecan and Snail expression in Ameloblastoma ( Results: WT-1 and Snail overexpression was seen in both Ameloblastoma and OKCs. Syndecan, responsible for maintaining normal cellular morphology, cell-cell adhesion and differentiation was significantly downregulated in both the lesions. The Ameloblasts-like cells and the basal cells showed significantly higher immunopositivity for WT-1 and Syndecan as compared to that of basal cells. An inverse relation was noted for Snail protein. The ANOVA test predicted a statistically significant difference of expression across the lesions with a Conclusions: The under-expression of epithelial membrane protein Syndecan-1 and upregulation of EMT transcription factor Snail can promote local invasion and is indicative of poor prognosis of these lesions. The overexpression of WT-1 results in tumorigenesis, proliferation and localized aggressiveness of Ameloblastoma and intrabony growth of OKC. Further investigation on the biologic behaviour of OKC is still recommended to arrive at more specific conclusions regarding its nature.