Cleft is the second most common congenital anomaly in the world. Between other types the bilateral complete CLP is the most complicated one and requests repeated surgery during aging. Many molecular events as regeneration, atrophy and changes of cellular activity are not clear in morphopathogenesis of cleft affected tissues. Thus, aim of this work was detection of appearance and relative distribution of growth factors, degeneration enzymes and activity factors in hard tissue after repeated plastical surgery on CLP.

Bone and cartilage were obtained during first and following plastical surgery from 8 bilateral CLP patients. Time duration between the surgeries varied from 6 months up to 5 years. Tissues were proceeded for immunohistochemical detection of BMP2/4, TGFbeta, OPG, MMP8 and MMP9.

Results: Demonstrated numerous BMP2/4 expressing osteocytes, while number of positive chondrocytes varied around the moderate value in the same patient. Cartilage showed few TGFbeta cells, but abundance of them were detected in bone. OPG expression was higher in cartilage than into the bone. Number of MMP8-containing cells was high in all supportive tissue, while only few osteocytes were MMP9 positive in bone despite numerous MMP9 positive chondrocytes.

Conclusions: Supportive tissues do not show difference in distribution of growth and degeneration enzymes in bilateral CLP within frame of 5 years. Numerous BMP2/4, OPG and MMPs positive cells prove intensification of main molecular events in bilateral CPL affected cartilage. Bilateral CPL affected bone shows decreased cellular activity with still high regeneration potential of cells and selection of degeneration enzymes.

Conflict of interest : None declared.