Histol Histopathol

Original Article Open Access

Ex vivo detection of lipopolysaccharide immunopositivity in Rushton bodies

Sirke Virkkunen1, Jaana Willberg2, Caj Haglund1,3,6, Malin Sund1,3, Timo Sorsa4,5 and Jaana Hagström1,2,6

1Department of Pathology, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, 2Department of Oral Pathology and Radiology, University of Turku, Turku, 3Department of Surgery, 4Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Diseases, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland, 5Section of Periodontology and Dental Prevention, Department of Dental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden and 6Translational Cancer Medicine Research Program, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Finland


Corresponding Author: Sirke Virkkunen, Haartmaninkatu 4, FI-00290 Helsinki, Finland. e-mail: sirke.virkkunen@helsinki.fi


Summary. Aim. Our aim was to investigate how bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is immunoexpressed in periapical lesions. By surprise we detected Rushton bodies (RBs) whose origin has been debatable to be positive for LPS.
Methodology. Samples of radicular cysts (N=70) were stained in order to identify variations in LPS immunoexpression indicating bacterial background. For immunostaining, we used an anti-LPS antibody from Escherichia coli, and for visualization Horse Radish Peroxidase labeled polymer as the secondary antibody.
Results. RBs showed positivity for LPS in radicular cysts. After collection of radicular cyst samples (70 in total), we noted that all RBs (N=25) histologically detected in tissue samples were positive for LPS. Furthermore, calcification in the cyst capsule showed immunopositivity.
Conclusion. We demonstrate for the first time that LPS is present in RBs, indicating that host response to bacteria might be the initial cause of the formation of these hyaline bodies in the cyst epithelium and cyst capsule calcifications. Histol Histopathol 38, 889-892 (2023)

Key words: Lipopolysaccharide, Periapical lesions, Radicular cyst, Rushton bodies

DOI: 10.14670/HH-18-602

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©The Author(s) 2023. Open Access. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons CC-BY International License.