Neutrophil function in rapidly progressive and adult periodontitis.

Our study focused on the functional characteristics of neutrophil leukocytes (PMN) in two different forms of periodontal disease:--Adult Periodontitis (AP) and Rapidly Progressive Periodontitis (RPP). Specifically neutrophil leukocytes in gingival fluid (GF) and in peripheral blood (PB) were studied. In our experimental studies we evaluated PMN hydrophobicity and adhering capacity, metabolic burst, chemotaxis response and N-formyl-L-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (FMLP) receptor by using a chemotactic peptide labeled with 3H and by evaluating the binding on PMN. These functional characteristics were found markedly reduced in the RPP group, while in the AP group, they were comparable to those of a healthy control group. No difference between local (GF) and systemic (PB) values was detected.