Proinflammatory factors in saliva as possible markers for periodontal disease

Studies have indicated that host inflammatory proteins, enzymes and indicators of bone metabolism present in saliva differ in different types of periodontal disease. However, the number of markers analyzed was limited and the effect of edentulousness was not examined. We measured the concentration of host inflammatory proteins: C-reactive protein (CRP), C3 and C4 complement components, alpha-2-macroglobulin (alpha-2M) and tumor-necrosis factor (TNF) in unstimulated saliva of 14 periodontally healthy (PH), 9 edentulous persons (EP), 10 patients with chronic periodontitis (CP) and 18 with aggressive periodontitis (AgP). TNF was below the level of detection in all samples except one. Edentulous persons and patients with CP had significantly reduced concentrations of CRP, C3 and alpha-2M. Edentulous persons and AgP patients had lower C4 concentrations. We can conclude that edentulous persons and CP patients have reduced salivary concentrations of host inflammatory proteins. These findings suggest that a reduction in host responsiveness might play a role in the pathogenesis of CP.