Relationship between antimicrobial protein levels in whole saliva and periodontitis.
BACKGROUND
Antimicrobial proteins are abundant in saliva. The purpose of this study was to determine and compare the amounts of two types of antibacterial protein, cystatin and lysozyme, in saliva between healthy persons and subjects with periodontitis.


METHODS
Forty subjects with periodontitis visiting Tokyo Dental College Chiba Hospital, Chiba, Japan, and 27 healthy persons were evaluated. Whole saliva was collected by requiring all subjects to expectorate into a sterile tube. Salivary levels of cystatin SA, cystatin C, and lysozyme were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay or immunoblot assay.


RESULTS
Cystatin SA levels in saliva from the periodontally diseased group showed a mean value of 0.063 +/- 0.026 mg/ml, statistically lower than that in the healthy group (P <0.05). The average cystatin C level in the periodontally diseased group was 2.27 +/- 1.20 ng/ml, markedly lower than that in the healthy group (3.79 +/- 1.28 ng/ml; P <0.05). Average lysozyme levels in the periodontitis and healthy groups were 16.75 +/- 15.31 microg/ml and 30.03 +/- 15.03 microg/ml, respectively. The lysozyme level in the periodontitis group was significantly lower than in the healthy group (P <0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Specific monoclonal antibodies are useful for the detection of family 2 cystatins in saliva samples, and the amount of antibacterial protein in saliva offers a potential indicator of the risk for periodontitis.
Ito
Taichi
T
Department of Oral and Maxillo-Facial Implantology, Tokyo Dental College, Chiba, Japan.
Komiya-Ito
Akiyo
A
Arataki
Tomohiko
T
Furuya
Yoshitaka
Y
Yajima
Yasutomo
Y
Yamada
Satoru
S
Okuda
Katsuji
K
Kato
Tetsuo
T
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D055316:Cystatin C; D015891:Cystatins / Q000032:analysis*; D003546:Cysteine Endopeptidases / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015151:Immunoblotting; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009113:Muramidase / Q000032:analysis*; D010518:Periodontitis / Q000201:enzymology*; D011480:Protease Inhibitors / Q000032:analysis; D055333:Salivary Cystatins; D012471:Salivary Proteins and Peptides / Q000032:analysis*
C525172:CST2 protein, human; C525030:CST3 protein, human; D055316:Cystatin C; D015891:Cystatins; D011480:Protease Inhibitors; D055333:Salivary Cystatins; D012471:Salivary Proteins and Peptides; D009113:Muramidase; D003546:Cysteine Endopeptidases