title: The expression of human β-defensins (hBD-1, hBD-2, hBD-3, hBD-4) in gingival epithelia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to analyze and compare the expression patterns of human β-defensin-4 (hBD-4) with those of hBD-1, hBD-2, and hBD-3 in healthy and chronically inflamed gingival tissues.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 96 gingival samples were collected, comprising 46 biopsies from chronic periodontitis (CP) patients and 50 from individuals with healthy tissue. Of these, 21CP and 21 healthy samples were used to examine the protein expression of the hBDs by immunohistochemistry. The remaining 25CP and 29 healthy tissue samples were subjected to real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction to quantify the mRNA expression of the hBDs.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All four types of β-defensin peptides were confined to the gingival epithelia. The percentage of samples positive for hBD-4 mRNA was significantly lower than the percentages for the other three β-defensins, both in healthy (p=0.003) and in inflamed (p=0.030) gingiva. However, in the case of the relative mRNA expression levels, that of hBD-4 was significantly higher than the levels for hBD-2 (healthy group: p<0.01; CP group: p<0.01) and hBD-3 (healthy group: p=0.004; CP group: p<0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study demonstrates differential expression of hBD-1, hBD-2, hBD-3, and hBD-4 in healthy and CP gingiva.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Oral diseases, Chengdu, PR China; Department of Periodontology, College of Stomatology, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, PR China; Chongqing Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases and Biomedical Sciences, Chongqing, PR China.
authors.forename: Xinyi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Oral diseases, Chengdu, PR China.
authors.forename: Dingyu
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Duan
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Oral diseases, Chengdu, PR China.
authors.forename: Jingmei
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Oral diseases, Chengdu, PR China.
authors.forename: Panpan
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Surgery, West China College of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, PR China.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Oral diseases, Chengdu, PR China; Department of Periodontology, West China College of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, PR China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Periodontology, Operative and Preventive Dentistry, University of Bonn, Welschnonnenstrasse 17, 53111 Bonn, Germany. Electronic address: sjepsen@uni-bonn.de.
authors.forename: Soren
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jepsen
authors.affiliation: Department of Periodontology, Operative and Preventive Dentistry, University of Bonn, Welschnonnenstrasse 17, 53111 Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Henrik
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dommisch
authors.affiliation: Department of Periodontology, Operative and Preventive Dentistry, University of Bonn, Welschnonnenstrasse 17, 53111 Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Jochen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Winter
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Oral diseases, Chengdu, PR China; Department of Periodontology, West China College of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, PR China. Electronic address: schuehih@sohu.com.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001706:Biopsy; D002908:Chronic Disease; D055113:Chronic Periodontitis / Q000378:metabolism; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000378:metabolism; D004848:Epithelium / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D005881:Gingiva / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010518:Periodontitis / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D055815:Young Adult; D023083:beta-Defensins / Q000096:biosynthesis*
chemical_list: C406407:DEFB1 protein, human; C422950:DEFB103A protein, human; C106641:DEFB4A protein, human; D023083:beta-Defensins
keywords: Antimicrobial cationic peptide; Immunohistochemistry; Periodontitis; Real-time polymerase chain reaction; β-Defensin