Abstract
Periodontal diseases are characterized by a complex set of biologic interactions between a diverse and dynamic microbial ecosystem and the host’s multifaceted and responsive immune and inflammatory machinery. Such interactions between microbial pathogens and various host response systems play a critical role in the development and progression of periodontal disease via the release of inflammatory and immune mediators. Advances in periodontal disease diagnostic are moving toward methods whereby periodontal risk can be identified and quantified by detecting such inflammatory mediators in its sequential pathophysiology. Pentraxins (PTXs) are classical mediators of inflammation and markers of acute-phase reaction. They are a super family of multifunctional molecules characterized by multimeric structure, divided into “short” PTXs and “long” PTXs. C-reactive protein (CRP) and pentraxin-3 (PTX3) are prototypic molecules of the short and long PTX family, respectively. Evidence suggests that PTXs acts as a non-redundant component of the humoral arm of innate immunity, downstream of, and complementary to, cellular recognition, as well as a tuner of inflammation. CRP is a cheaper biomarker and more readily available in everyday clinical practice compared with other inflammatory markers, on the other hand, PTX3 is believed to be the true independent indicator of disease activity and could have clinical implication in diagnosing the “at site” inflammatory status of the periodontal disease. These pentraxins are sensitive and specific in the diagnosis and prognosis of chronic diseases. Thus the pentraxins could be used as preferred biomarkers in periodontal disease diagnosis.
Highlights
The incidence and rate of progression of periodontal diseases depends on the complex interactions between periodontopathic bacteria and cells of host immune system [1]
C-reactive protein (CRP) is a cheaper alternative and more readily available in everyday clinical practice compared with other inflammatory markers, it has a better sensitivity and specificity, its measurement could have clinical implication in diagnosing the “at site” inflammatory status of the patient [41]
Pentraxins (PTXs) are classical mediators of inflammation and markers of acute-phase reaction. They are a super family of multifunctional molecules characterized by multimeric structure, divided into “short” PTXs and “long” PTXs, CRP and PTX3 are respective prototypic molecules
Summary
The incidence and rate of progression of periodontal diseases depends on the complex interactions between periodontopathic bacteria and cells of host immune system [1]. The absence of bleeding on probing on the other hand is a very precise negative predictor of periodontal disease activity [6] These traditional measures cannot reliably identify sites with ongoing periodontal destruction and does not provide any information of the cause of the condition or patient’s susceptibility to disease, whether the disease is progressing/remission or whether the response to therapy will be positive or negative [7]. These diagnostic methods are not precisely accurate and only allow retrospective diagnosis at one point of time [8]. Acute phase proteins in general come close to fulfill these criteria
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