Increased susceptibility to periodontitis in mink affected by a lysosomal disease.

Abstract

The periodontal conditions of standard dark mink and mink affected with Chediak‐Higashi syndrome were studied in 45 female animals, 2.5 years of age. Both animal groups suffered from chronic periodontitis. The inflammatory changes and bone loss in normal dark mink were slight. The Chediak‐Higashi mink were regularly found to have both more intense inflammatory reactions and more advanced bone loss upon histologic and radiographic examination, and by the finding of larger distances between the cemento‐enamel junction and the alveolar crest. The results of this investigation indicate that the periodontal lesion in mink is intimately related to calculus‐plaque deposits in a way similar to periodontal disease in man. Further, the finding that mink affected by a systemic lysosomal abnormality develop a more severe gingival inflammation to dental plaque than do normal animals is considered to give some support to the concept that released lysosomal enzymes may be responsible for the final destruction of tissues in periodontitis although other qualities associated with the Chediak‐Higashi syndrome may contribute.