title: Expression of caspase-3, p53 and Bcl-2 in generalized aggressive periodontitis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Apoptosis, or programmed cell death is a form of physiological cell death. It is increased or decreased in the presence of infection, inflammation or tissue remodelling. Previous studies suggest that apoptosis is involved in the pathogenesis of inflammatory periodontal disease. The aim of the present study was to investigate the clinical features and known indicators of apoptosis (p53, Bcl-2, Caspase-3) in patients with generalized aggressive periodontitis (GAP) METHODS: Eight patients with GAP, who had sites with probing depths (PD) > 5 mm, and 10 periodontally-healthy persons were included in the study. Clinical examinations and PD were performed, and the plaque index and gingival index were recorded. Gingival tissues biopsies were obtained from active site of each patient and from healthy individuals. The expression of caspase-3, Bcl-2, and p53 was evaluated by immunohistochemistry
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were no significant differences between GAP and control group with respect to levels of caspase-3 and p53 expression (P > 0.05). Contrary, the frequency of grade 3 expression of Bcl-2 was higher in GAP group than the control group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The higher frequency of Bcl-2 expression in GAP group indicates and delayed apoptosis can lead to increasing resident inflammatory cells in periodontal tissues and resulting in progressive periodontal destruction.
authors.affiliation: Baskent University, Faculty of Dentistry, Department of Periodontology, Ankara, Turkey. Suleb@baskent.edu.tr
authors.forename: Sule
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bulut
authors.forename: Hilal
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Uslu
authors.forename: B Handan
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Ozdemir
authors.forename: Omer Engin
authors.initials: OE
authors.lastname: Bulut
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D010520:Aggressive Periodontitis / Q000378:metabolism*; D017209:Apoptosis; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D001706:Biopsy; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D053148:Caspase 3 / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / Q000378:metabolism*; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53; D053148:Caspase 3