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Updated: Feb 7, 2026
Isolation, Characterization and Functional Examination of the Gingival Immune Cell Network
Published on: February 16, 2016
Innate lymphoid cells are present in gingivitis and periodontitis
Elin Kindstedt1, Cecilia Koskinen Holm1, Py Palmqvist1
1Department of Odontology, Division of Molecular Periodontology, Umeå University, SE-901 85 Umeå, Sweden.
Background:
Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) are the most recently identified leukocytes of the immune system and these cells are increasingly acknowledged to play important roles in host defence and tissue repair. ILCs are also contributors of inflammatory diseases such as asthma and colitis. We analyzed the presence and relative proportions of the different ILC subsets (ILC1, ILC2 and ILC3) in gingivitis and periodontitis. Further, we investigated if ILCs express receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-B ligand (RANKL), a cytokine crucial for osteoclast differentiation and bone resorption.
Methods:
We collected gingivitis and periodontitis soft tissue and characterized ILC subsets including RANKL expression in single-cell suspensions using flow cytometry.
Results:
ILCs were detected both in gingivitis and periodontitis. The majority of ILCs, in both conditions, were ILC1s. Furthermore, RANKL expression was detected on a fraction of the ILC1s.
Conclusions:
Our discovery of the presence of ILCs both in gingivitis and periodontitis and concomitant expression of RANKL on a fraction of the ILC1 population suggest that these cells may be of importance in periodontal disease. In addition, our findings provide a new insight into the field of oral immunology.
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