Hypoxia-dependent transcriptional control of activity of destructive inflammatory and malignant periodontium changes

Abstract

The aim of the study was to evaluate the diagnostic value of determining the level of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) in the gingival fluid in patients with chronic generalized periodontitis (CGP) and exacerbation of inflammatory periodontal diseases in patients with cancer of the oral mucosa (OM). A clinical study was carried out with the participation of 60 patients with CGP (group 1) and 22 patients with cancer of OM (group 2) of the T1-2N0M0 stage, as well as 15 healthy individuals with no revealed periodontal pathology. CGP patients, depending on the depth of periodontal pockets (PC), were divided into two subgroups - with a mild degree (PC depth up to 3.5 mm) and an average degree (PC depth from 4 to 6 mm). Group 2 patients were also divided into two subgroups - with exacerbation of CGP (n=12) and patients with no complications (n=10). The content of HIF-1α in the gingival fluid was determined by enzyme immunoassay. The results of the study made it possible to establish that in patients of group 1, the concentration of HIF-1α in inflammatory exudate increased by 2.4 times (p<0.001) compared with the control group. The concentration of HIF-1α in the contents of periodontal pockets in patients with CGP depended on the severity of the disease: with mild CGP, it did not differ from the control group, and with moderate CGP it was 3.15 times higher (p<0.001). In patients with cancer of OM, the concentration of HIF-1α in the gingival fluid did not depend on the presence of inflammatory periodontal lesions and was determined by a multiple increase in the biomarker level (7.5 times) due to the development of a malignant process in the oral cavity. Therefore, monitoring the concentration of HIF-1α in the gingival fluid is informative in patients with CGP in assessing the severity of periodontal conditions, as well as in differential diagnosis with malignant formations of the oral cavity.