Association of periodontitis with GSTM1/GSTT1-null variants--a pilot study

To analyze a possible association between glutathione-S-transferase T1 (GSTM1) and/or glutathione-S-transferase M1 (GSTM1) polymorphisms and chronic or aggressive forms of periodontitis in a Caucasian ethnic group.

Sixty-nine chronic, 14 aggressive periodontitis and 61 controls, deeply analyzed from a clinical point of view, were studied for their GSTM1 and GSTT1 polymorphisms by allelic specific PCR techniques. As a second control group, 64 blood donors were also included.

A significant association was found between GSTM1-null genotype and both chronic and aggressive periodontitis. The aggressive forms were associated with the double null GSTM1 and GSTT1 combination. These results were independent of the patients' age, gender, hygienic habits and smoke (evaluated as tobacco smoking yes/no, cigarettes/day and pack years) as confirmed by multivariate logistic regression analysis.

The GSTM1-null variant is statistically associated with the two forms of periodontitis, while the aggressive one also presents a second null variant: GSTT1.