Analysis of plasma calprotectin and polymorphisms of S100A8 in patients with aggressive periodontitis

Calprotectin is an important proinflammatory mediator in various inflammatory diseases and is composed of two subunits (S100A8 and S100A9). However, the level of calprotectin in plasma of patients with aggressive periodontitis and its relationship with gene polymorphisms of S100A8 are unclear.

The plasma concentrations of calprotectin were measured, using an enzyme immunoassay, in 139 patients with aggressive periodontitis and in 88 periodontally healthy control subjects. These patients were genotyped for the rs3795391 and rs3806232 polymorphisms of S100A8.

The plasma concentration of calprotectin in patients with aggressive periodontitis was significantly higher than in controls (2.17 mg/L vs. 1.72 mg/L, respectively, p = 0.001). The percentage of the AA genotype of S100A8 rs3795391 was significantly higher in patients than in controls (82% vs. 69.3%, respectively, p = 0.027), while the frequency of the allele G was decreased among patients compared with controls (9.6% vs. 16.1%, respectively, p = 0.036), which was especially apparent in men (rs3795391 genotype, p = 0.005; rs3795391 allele, p = 0.015). The mean probing depth in patients carrying the AA genotype was significantly higher than that of patients carrying the GA + GG genotype of two polymorphisms of S100A8 (rs3795391, p = 0.035; rs3806232, p = 0.040), whereas the levels of calprotectin between different genotypes were not significantly different (rs3795391, p = 0.11; rs3806232, p = 0.15).

These findings indicate that aggressive periodontitis is associated with elevated levels of plasma calprotectin and that gene polymorphisms of S100A8 may influence the susceptibility and severity of aggressive periodontitis.