title: Immunophenotyping in saliva as an alternative approach for evaluation of immunopathogenesis in chronic periodontitis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  To date, flow cytometric immunophenotyping has not been used to investigate immune patterns in saliva samples from individuals with inflammatory processes in the oral cavity, such as chronic periodontitis (CP). Saliva analysis could be a non-invasive method for evaluating oral health. The objective of this study is to determine the phenotype of leukocytes and total immunoglobulin A (IgA), IgG, and IgM titers in the saliva of individuals with CP.
  
  
  METHODS
  Saliva samples were obtained from patients with CP (n = 12) and from a control group (n = 27) without oral diseases. Flow cytometry was performed to determine the frequency of T cells (CD4(+) and CD8(+)), B cells, and natural killer (NK) cells as well as the total leukocyte population. Immunoglobulin titers were determined by dot enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Cell immunophenotyping revealed that patients with CP had a higher frequency of total leukocytes (47.94% ± 5.1%; P < 0.001), B cells (43.93% ± 6.2%; P = 0.006), NK cells (0.16% ± 0.04%; P = 0.03), and CD4(+) T cells (38.99% ± 4.4%; P = 0.002) than individuals without oral pathologies (24.75% ± 2.2%, 20.60% ± 2.7%, 0.09% ± 0.03%, and 16.82% ± 3.5%, respectively). No significant differences in salivary total IgA, IgG, and IgM titers were found between the two cohorts studied. Nevertheless, higher total IgG levels were observed in patients with CP, which could indicate a possible correlation between clinical attachment level and salivary IgG (P = 0.07; r(2) = 0.08).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results show that cell phenotyping by flow cytometry could be an effective tool for determining leukocyte profiles in saliva samples from patients with CP and healthy individuals.
authors.affiliation: School of Dentistry, School of Health Sciences, University of the State of Amazonas (UEA), Manaus, AM, Brazil.
authors.forename: Priscilla F
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Naiff
authors.forename: Raquel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ferraz
authors.forename: Clarissa F
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Cunha
authors.forename: Patrícia P
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Orlandi
authors.forename: Antônio Luiz
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Boechat
authors.forename: Alvaro L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Bertho
authors.forename: Maria Cristina
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Dos-Santos
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000473:pathology; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000473:pathology; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000473:pathology; D055113:Chronic Periodontitis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003774:Dental Plaque Index; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D007071:Immunoglobulin A, Secretory / Q000032:analysis; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000032:analysis; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000032:analysis; D016130:Immunophenotyping; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000473:pathology; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000145:classification; D018655:Lymphocyte Count; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000145:classification; D008297:Male; D017622:Periodontal Attachment Loss / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D010512:Periodontal Index; D010514:Periodontal Pocket / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D012463:Saliva / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D007071:Immunoglobulin A, Secretory; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007075:Immunoglobulin M