Differential in situ distribution of interleukin‐8, monocyte chemoattractant protein‐1 and Rantes in human chronic periapical granuloma

In situ distribution of three prototype chemokines interleukin (IL)‐8, monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)‐1 and Rantes was determined in chronic human periapical granulomas by immunohistochemistry using monoclonal antibodies. IL‐8 was found primarily in the cytoplasm of the Malassez epithelial cells. MCP‐1 immunoreactivity was confined to the endothelial cells that lined small venules. Each of the three investigated chemokines, including Rantes, exhibited a characteristic binding pattern to the extracellular matrix of the lesion. The observed chemokines may play a role in establishing the cellular composition of chronic apical periodontitis, thus augmenting the intensity of local inflammation and tissue damage.