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Immune-related gene expression in severe periodontitis assessed by NanoString technology: A preliminary study
Dragomira Nikolova1, Velitchka Dosseva-Panova2, Dimitar Dimitrov2
1Department of Medical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Medical University of Sofia, Sofia, Bulgaria.
Biomolecules & Biomedicine
|December 5, 2025
Summary
This study explored immune gene expression in saliva from periodontitis patients. Salivary gene profiling shows potential for identifying biomarkers like HLA-DRB1 and CCR1 for periodontitis detection and management.
Area of Science:
- Oral Biology
- Immunology
- Genomics
Background:
- Periodontitis involves the destruction of periodontal tissues due to a dysregulated immune response to subgingival biofilm.
- Identifying reliable biomarkers for periodontitis severity is crucial for effective management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate immune-related gene expression patterns in severe periodontitis (stage III/IV) using salivary samples.
- To assess the feasibility of salivary gene expression profiling for identifying disease biomarkers.
Main Methods:
- Collected unstimulated saliva from 10 severe periodontitis patients and 2 healthy controls.
- Analyzed RNA using the NanoString nCounter® Human Inflammation Panel (249 genes).
- Performed differential gene expression analysis after quality control and filtering.
Main Results:
- 89 genes were available for comparison after filtering low-expression genes.
- 26 genes (29.2%) met the effect-size threshold, with 23 upregulated and 3 downregulated in periodontitis patients.
- HLA-DRB1 and CCR1 showed notable upregulation, suggesting potential roles in immune activation and leukocyte recruitment.
Conclusions:
- Salivary gene expression profiling is a feasible method for identifying molecular markers of periodontitis severity.
- HLA-DRB1 and CCR1 are potential biomarker candidates for periodontitis detection, risk stratification, and monitoring.
- Further validation in larger cohorts is necessary to confirm these findings.
