Abstract
Cystatin C (CSTC) is an inhibitor of cysteine proteinases and could play a protective and regulatory role under inflammatory conditions. The present study was designed to assess the concentration of CSTC in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) and serum, to find out their association if any, in periodontal health and disease. 30 subjects were selected divided into 3 groups consisting of 10 subjects in each group based on clinical parameters: periodontally healthy group, gingivitis group and chronic periodontitis group, while, chronic periodontitis group after 8 weeks of the treatment (scaling and root planing) constituted after periodontal therapy group. GCF and serum samples were collected from all subjects to estimate the levels of CSTC by ELISA. The mean CSTC concentration in GCF and serum was observed to be the highest in periodontitis group and lowest in periodontally healthy group with intermediate concentration in gingivitis group and after periodontal therapy group. CSTC concentration in GCF and serum increased proportionally with the severity of periodontal disease (from health to periodontitis group) and decreased after treatment. This suggests that CSTC increases with disease progression to prevent further periodontal degeneration and decreases after treatment due to bone metabolic homeostasis. Further, longitudinal prospective studies involving larger population are needed to confirm the findings of present study and to better understand the role of CSTC in the pathogenesis of periodontal diseases.
Highlights
Periodontitis is a disease of the periodontium characterized by irreversible loss of connective tissue attachment and supporting alveolar bone [1]
The mean Cystatin C (CSTC) concentration in serum was found to be least in periodontally healthy group, followed by after periodontal therapy group and gingivitis group, and highest in chronic periodontitis group
The hypothesis of equality of means for concentration of CSTC in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) and serum was rejected at 5 % level of significance (p < 0.05), which indicate that the means differ significantly
Summary
Periodontitis is a disease of the periodontium characterized by irreversible loss of connective tissue attachment and supporting alveolar bone [1]. Destructive process in periodontitis is caused by an imbalance of the homeostasis between degradative enzymes such as the lysosomal cysteine proteinases, Cathepsins, and their inhibitors, Cystatins [2,3,4]. Cystatins are inhibitors of cysteine proteinases and could play a protective and regulatory role under inflammatory conditions. The synthesis of CSTC does not seem to be tissue-specific and all nucle-. Ated cells constitutively express and constantly secrete CSTC [6]. CSTC is considered as a marker of renal function in both healthy and diseased patients [7] and has been associated with various diseases with chronic inflammation and atherosclerosis [8], new onset hypertension [9], tumors [10], thyroid dysfunction [11] and Alzheimer’s disease [12]
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