Background and Aims

Chymotrypsin-like-proteinase of Treponema denticola (Td-CTLP) can stimulate the protein expression and activation of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-8 (or collagenase-2), a potent tissue destructive enzyme from gingival cells in vitro. The aims of this study were 1) to demonstrate the proMMP-8 (or latent MMP-8) activation by Td-CTLP in vitro and 2) to detect Td-CTLP and MMP-8 protein levels in the tissue samples of peri-implantitis and periodontitis patients.

Materials and Methods

proMMP-8 activation by Td-CTLP was analyzed by immunoblots. Tissue specimens were collected from 38 systemically healthy and non-smoking patients; 14 of whom had moderate to severe periodontitis, 10 of whom were suffering from peri-implantitis, and finally 14 of whom showed no sign of periodontal inflammation nor radiological bone decay (control group). The immune-expression levels of MMP-8 and Td-CTLP in the epithelium and the connective tissue were analyzed immunohistochemically. A pixel color-intensity analyze was performed with ImageJ software (version 1.46c; Rasband WS, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA) to obtain a comparable numeral score for each patient’s epithelium and connective tissue MMP-8 and Td-CTLP enzyme level.

Results

Td-CTLP activated proMMP-8 in vitro by converting the 70−75 kDa proMMP-8 to 65 kDa active MMP-8. Also, lower molecular size 25−50 kDa parts of MMP-8 were formed. There was no statistically significant difference between the study groups in terms of their MMP-8 and Td-CTLP levels in the epithelium or in the connective tissue.

Conclusion

Regarding the limits of this study, it can thus be said that the Td-CTLP enzyme can activate the host proMMP-8 enzyme. Tissue protein levels of MMP-8 and Td-CTLP do not seem to be changed in peri-implantitis and in periodontitis.

中文翻译：

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牙周炎和种植体周围炎组织水平的齿密螺旋体-CTLP及其MMP-8活化能力

背景和目标

Treponema denticola (Td-CTLP) 的糜蛋白酶样蛋白酶(Td-CTLP) 可以刺激基质金属蛋白酶 (MMP)-8（或胶原酶-2）的蛋白质表达和活化，基质金属蛋白酶 (MMP)-8（或胶原酶-2）是一种来自牙龈细胞的强效组织破坏酶。本研究的目的是 1) 证明 Td-CTLP在体外对 proMMP-8（或潜在 MMP-8）的激活和 2) 检测种植体周围炎组织样本中的 Td-CTLP 和 MMP-8 蛋白水平和牙周炎患者。

材料和方法

通过免疫印迹分析 Td-CTLP 对 proMMP-8 的激活。组织标本采集自 38 名全身健康且不吸烟的患者；其中14人患有中度至重度牙周炎，10人患有种植体周围炎，最后14人没有牙周炎症或放射性骨腐烂迹象（对照组）。免疫组化分析上皮和结缔组织中MMP-8和Td-CTLP的免疫表达水平。使用 ImageJ 软件（1.46c 版；Rasband WS，美国国立卫生研究院，贝塞斯达，马里兰州，美国）进行像素颜色强度分析，以获得每位患者的上皮和结缔组织 MMP-8 和 Td-CTLP 的可比较数字评分酶水平。

结果

Td-CTLP 通过将 70-75 kDa proMMP-8 转化为 65 kDa 活性 MMP-8 在体外激活 proMMP-8。此外，形成了 MMP-8 的较低分子大小的 25-50 kDa 部分。在上皮或结缔组织中的 MMP-8 和 Td-CTLP 水平方面，研究组之间没有统计学上的显着差异。

结论

关于这项研究的局限性，因此可以说 Td-CTLP 酶可以激活宿主 proMMP-8 酶。MMP-8 和 Td-CTLP 的组织蛋白水平在种植体周围炎和牙周炎中似乎没有改变。