Serum inhibition of gingival collagenase

Collagenases derived from bovine and human gingiva are inhibited effectively by serum. In bovine and human serum fractionated by gel chromatography, alpha2-macroglobulin is the only significant inhibitor of gingival collagenase. alpha11-Antitrypsin inhibited collagenase only in very high concentration and was several hundred-fold less effective than alpha2-macroglobulin. Inhibition of gingival collagenase with alpha2-macroglobulin is accompanied by the formation of an enzyme-inhibitor complex, which has retained no collagenolytic activity.