Gusman Heloisa, Santana Ronaldo B, Zehnder Matthias
Department of Periodontology and Oral Biology, Boston University Goldman School of Dental Medicine, Boston, USA.
Eur J Oral Sci. 2002 Oct;110(5):353-7. doi: 10.1034/j.1600-0722.2002.21347.x.
The role of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) in the breakdown of pulp tissue of teeth with severe caries has not yet been directly elucidated. This study was to determine the levels of selected MMPs and the overall gelatinolytic activity in clinically healthy and inflamed human dental pulps of 29 healthy subjects, aged 10-19 yr. Seventeen pulps were collected from subjects diagnosed with symptomatic pulpitis, and 18 control pulps were obtained from 12 subjects following premolar extraction for orthodontic reasons. The levels of MMP-1, MMP-2, MMP-3 and MMP-9 were determined with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Densitometric analysis of gelatin zymograms was used to assay gelatinolytic activity in pulp supernatants. The MMP-1 levels were below the detection limit for both groups. Levels of MMP-2 and MMP-3 were significantly lower in symptomatic vs. clinically healthy pulps. In contrast, levels of MMP-9 in inflamed pulps were significantly higher than those recorded in clinically normal pulps. The overall gelatinolytic activity was elevated in inflamed pulps compared with healthy counterparts. Further, the gelatinolytic activity was positively correlated with MMP-9 levels. The data obtained suggest a key role of MMP-9 in the breakdown of inflamed human dental pulp tissue.
基质金属蛋白酶（MMPs）在重度龋坏牙齿牙髓组织破坏中的作用尚未得到直接阐明。本研究旨在测定29名年龄在10至19岁的健康受试者临床健康和发炎的人牙髓中所选MMPs的水平以及总体明胶酶活性。从诊断为症状性牙髓炎的受试者中收集了17颗牙髓，从12名因正畸原因拔除前磨牙的受试者中获得了18颗对照牙髓。采用酶联免疫吸附测定法测定MMP-1、MMP-2、MMP-3和MMP-9的水平。用明胶酶谱的光密度分析来测定牙髓上清液中的明胶酶活性。两组的MMP-1水平均低于检测限。有症状的牙髓中MMP-2和MMP-3的水平明显低于临床健康的牙髓。相比之下,发炎牙髓中MMP-9的水平明显高于临床正常牙髓中记录的水平。与健康牙髓相比，发炎牙髓中的总体明胶酶活性升高。此外，明胶酶活性与MMP-9水平呈正相关。获得的数据表明MMP-9在发炎的人牙髓组织破坏中起关键作用。
