Effects of aging on host responses in gingival crevicular fluid in natural gingivitis

This study compared host responses against natural gingivitis in the gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) in young and aged periodontium.

This cross-sectional study recruited two patient populations with natural gingivitis in young (18-35 years old) and elder cohorts (36-75 years old). GCF samples were analyzed for 39 inflammatory and tissue remodeling mediators using bead-based multiplex immunoassays. Independent t-tests with false discovery rate adjustments were used to compare mediator expressions between groups.

Forty patients were enrolled in these comparisons, including young patients (n=22) and elder patients (n=18). In comparison with the young group, the elder group had greater clinical attachment loss and higher expression of MPO (p<0.001), IL-1β (p<0.05), IL-6 (p<0.05), and IL-8 (p<0.05). Despite the ratio of MMP-8/TIMP-1 being not significantly different (p>0.05), the young group had greater ratio of MMP-9/TIMP-1 than old group (p<0.01).

The current findings reveal that the inflammatory profiles of young and elder cohorts with natural gingivitis are distinct. The young cohort with natural gingivitis demonstrated lower disease susceptibility and more robust tissue turnover, whereas the aged periodontium was characterized by higher susceptibility to disease and diminished healing capacity.