Anastasi Michele Runci, Centofanti Antonio, Favaloro Angelo, Freni Josè, Nicita Fabiana, Vermiglio Giovanna, Anastasi Giuseppe Pio, Cascone Piero
Department of Biomedical, Dental Sciences and Morphofunctional Imaging, University of Messina, 98125 Messina, Italy.
Maxillofacial Surgery, UniCamillus School of Medicine, Saint Camillus International University of Health and Medical Sciences, 00131 Rome, Italy.
J Funct Morphol Kinesiol. 2024 Nov 2;9(4):217. doi: 10.3390/jfmk9040217.
Unilateral condylar hyperplasia (UCH) is characterized by slow progression and enlargement of the condyle, accompanied by elongation of the mandibular body, resulting in facial asymmetry, occlusal disharmony, and joint dysfunction. This condition can be defined as "active" or "inactive": the active form is characterized by continuous growth and dynamic histologic changes, whereas the inactive form indicates that the growth process has stabilized. Since there are few microscopic studies on the inactive form, this study aims to investigate the histological features and expression of key proteins and bone markers in patients diagnosed with inactive UCH. A total of 15 biopsies from patients aged 28 to 36 years were examined by light microscopy and immunofluorescence for collagen I and II, metalloproteinases 2 (MMP-2) and 9 (MMP-9), receptor activator of nuclear factor- kappa B (RANK), and osteocalcin. Our findings indicate that during inactive UCH, the ongoing process is not entirely stopped, with moderate expression of collagen, metalloproteinases, RANK, and osteocalcin, although no cartilage islands are detectable. The present study shows that even if these features are moderate when compared to active UCH and without cartilage islands, inactive UCH could be characterized by borderline features that could represent an important trigger-point to possible reactivation, or they could represent a long slow progression that is not "self-limited".
单侧髁突增生（UCH）的特征是髁突缓慢进展并增大，同时伴有下颌体长轴延长，导致面部不对称、咬合不协调和关节功能障碍。这种情况可分为“活动期”或“静止期”：活动期的特征是持续生长和动态组织学变化，而静止期则表明生长过程已经稳定。由于对静止期的微观研究较少，本研究旨在调查诊断为静止期UCH患者的组织学特征、关键蛋白和骨标志物的表达情况。对15例年龄在28至36岁患者的活检组织进行了光学显微镜检查，并对I型和II型胶原蛋白、金属蛋白酶2（MMP - 2）和9（MMP - 9）、核因子κB受体激活剂（RANK）和骨钙素进行了免疫荧光检测。我们的研究结果表明，在静止期UCH期间，尽管未检测到软骨岛，但胶原、金属蛋白酶、RANK和骨钙素仍有中度表达，这表明持续的过程并未完全停止。本研究表明，即使与活动期UCH相比这些特征不明显且没有软骨岛，静止期UCH仍可能具有临界特征，这些特征可能是可能重新激活的重要触发点，或者它们可能代表一个漫长而缓慢的进展过程，并非“自限性”。
