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Published on: August 8, 2014
Heterogeneous Systemic IgG Responses to Porphyromonas gingivalis Gingipains in Advanced Periodontitis
Steffen Büttner1, Sonja H M Derman1, Alexander Simonis2,3,4
1Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, Polyclinic for Operative Dentistry and Periodontology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
Objectives:
To evaluate serum IgG responses against Porphyromonas gingivalis gingipains RgpB and Kgp in patients with stage III and IV periodontitis and examine associations with clinical periodontal parameters.
Materials And Methods:
This exploratory cross-sectional study included participants with advanced periodontitis (Stage III and IV). Clinical periodontal parameters (number of teeth, bleeding on probing in percent [BoP%], probing pocket depth [PPD], bone loss-to-age ratio, periodontal inflamed surface area [PISA] per tooth) were recorded. Blood samples were collected and serum IgG responses against recombinant RgpB and Kgp were analyzed. Serum IgG signals were quantified using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).
Results:
All 42 participants (mean age 62 years) exhibited measurable serum IgG responses against P. gingivalis gingipains. IgG signals (optical density) ranged from 0.13 to 1.46 for RgpB and 0.34 to 1.51 for Kgp. RgpB-specific IgG levels were higher in Stage IV versus Stage III periodontitis (p = 0.023), whereas Kgp-specific IgG levels showed no significant difference between stages (p = 0.249). Anti-RgpB IgG levels correlated positively with age (ρ = 0.362, p = 0.019) and inversely with the number of teeth (ρ = -0.372, p = 0.015), whereas anti-Kgp IgG showed no statistically significant correlations with the assessed clinical parameters.
Conclusions:
Serum IgG binding signals to RgpB and Kgp were measurable by ELISA and showed substantial heterogeneity among patients with advanced periodontitis, with considerable overlap between disease stages. Anti-RgpB IgG was associated with age and tooth loss, whereas inflammatory measures showed no significant correlations and anti-Kgp IgG showed only weak trend-level associations. Overall, total gingipain-specific IgG appears to reflect cumulative periodontal disease burden and exposure history more clearly than current inflammatory activity in this cohort, with limited value as a standalone marker for differentiating Stage III and Stage IV periodontitis.
