Characterization of Inflammatory Biomarkers in Palatal Tissue of Patients with Bilateral Cleft Lip and Palate

Orofacial clefts are among the most common congenital craniofacial anomalies in the world. Immunity factors modulate response, inflammation, and healing in clefted tissue. This study aims to evaluate the levels of the pro-inflammatory biomarkers Granulysin, Resistin, FCGR1A, NF-kßp65, and CD68 to describe and understand the morphopathological basis of inflammation. The comparison was done between patient and control samples across milk and mixed dentition age groups. In total, 14 patient samples were analyzed with a total of 10 control samples to form two distinct control groups with milk dentition age and mixed dentition age. Samples were analyzed using light microscopy, and a semi-quantitative method of evaluation and comparison was used to determine the number of immunohistochemically positive structures of patient and control samples. Statistics included Spearman’s correlation and Fisher’s exact test to compare groups and detect significant differences. NF-kßp65 in the milk dentition age group (p = 0.043 for NF-kßp65 in connective tissue, p = 0.017 for NF-kßp65 in salivary glands), and FCGR1A and CD68 in the mixed dentition age group showed statistically significant differences in the expression of palatal tissues compared to the controls (p = 0.016 for FCGR1A in connective tissue, p = 0.048 for CD68 in epithelium). Spearman’s rank correlation revealed eight very strong correlations among several factors and one strong correlation between factors. The presence of many very strong and strong Spearman’s correlations among inflammatory factors in cleft-affected individuals suggests heightened signaling in these pathways. Furthermore, the difference in the inflammatory factor expression at different dentition ages suggests variation in the inflammation character with age.