BIOCHEMICAL AND IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL STUDIES OF MATRIX METALLOPROTEINASES IN PERIODONTAL DISEASE PATHOGENESIS AFFECTING CHILDREN WITH CONNECTIVE TISSUE DYSPLASIA SYNDROME

Abstract

The interest taken in studying pathomorphological and pathophysiological mechanisms behind periodontal inflammation affecting children with undifferentiated connective tissue dysplasia (UCTD) can be accounted for by the disease high prevalence, risk of its progression, as well as morphological and functional immaturity of tissues and low effectiveness of the available treatment options. The study into the matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) expression in the gum and oral fluid biopsy material in children with UCTD is of both scientific and practical value in terms of diagnostic identification, disease course assessment, and the design of individualized treatment modes for periodontal diseases. In order to determine the specific features of MMP-2, MMP-8, MMP-9 expression, our study involved 61 children with periodontal diseases and various degrees of UCTD, as well as 27 healthy children with intact periodontium. The study implied analyzing the participants’ immune-histochemical studies of gum biopsy material and oral fluid enzyme immunoassay results. The enzyme immunoassay of MMP concentration in the oral fluid revealed that children with a prominent degree of UCTD, had their MMP-2, MMP-8, MMP-9 expression (medians 5.49 ng/ml, 478.4 ng/ml, 921.6 ng/ml, respectively) exceeding significantly the concentration of these enzymes in children whose degree of UCTD could be described as mild (medians 2.76 ng/ml, 317.1 ng/ml, 584.3 ng/ml, respectively). An analysis of the MMP expression in the gum biopsy material showed that MMP-2 is not a reliable indicator to offer data required to assess the clinical status of periodontal tissues, since it is detected both in healthy children with intact periodontium and in children with periodontal disease and the UCTD syndrome. MMP-8 and MMP-9 can provide an objective description of the active phase of periodontium inflammation, which means these enzymes should be considered as reliable biomarkers of inflammation activity at the disease manifestation stage. Biochemical and immunohistochemical studies of MMP-2, MMP-8, MMP-9 the expression in oral fluid and gum biopsy material in children with UCTD syndrome should be used to identify the periodontium structural and functional status, the nature of inflammation, to detect potential risk groups vulnerable to the development of periodontal diseases, as well as to evaluate the effectiveness of various schemes for comprehensive treatment of periodontal issues.