[A rapid diagnosis (SK-013) for periodontitis based on the enzymatic activity of periodontopathic bacteria. The relationship between the enzymatic activity (SK-013) and B. gingivalis, B. forsythus, T. denticola in subgingival microflora].

SK-013 was developed for rapid detection of the peptidase activity in subgingival plaque samples. The purpose of this study was to determine whether SK-013 could be a marker for the presence of periodontopathic bacteria including Treponema denticola, Bacteroides gingivalis and Bacteroides forsythus which produce trypsin-like enzyme. Subgingival plaque samples were taken with 3 paper points from 10 clinically healthy sites and 30 periodontal diseased sites. The SK-013 activity of plaque sample was assayed and the cells of T. denticola, B. gingivalis and B. forsythus in the sample were counted by immunofluorescence technique. In diseased sites, both the SK-013 activity and the cell counts of these organisms were significantly higher than those in healthy sites. The proportions and cell counts of these organisms and the SK-013 activity were closely correlated with clinical parameters including Gingival Index, Plaque Index, and Probing depth. The correlation between the presence of these organisms and the SK-013 activity was significant. Correlation coefficients between the presence of T. denticola and the SK-013 activity were higher than those of others.