LATENT INFECTION WITH EPSTEIN-BARR-VIRUS IN ODONTOGENIC DISORDERS - COMPARISON AMONG AMELOBLASTOMA, DENTIGEROUS CYST AND ODONTOGENIC KERATOCYST

In order to investigate the relationship between Epstein-Barr virus (E BV) latent infection and histogenesis of odontogenic disorders, in sit u hybridization for EBV-encoded small RNA (EBER) was applied to the pa raffin sections of ameloblastoma, dentigerous cyst, and odontogenic ke ratocyst. Eight cases (15%) of 53 ameloblastomas showed scattered sign als for EBER in the parenchymal cells, whereas no reaction of EBER tra nscript was observed in the non-neoplastic cystic lesions. In the amel oblastoma, the follicular and plexiform types revealed the signals in the nuclei, but cystic, acanthomatous, granular, and basal cell types exhibited no reaction with EBER. The distribution of the signals witho ut monoclonarity indicated that ameloblastoma cells may exclude EBV ge nomes or inactivate EBER-encoded genes. The results suggested that EBV participates as one of the transforming factors in the occurrence of ameloblastoma.