Department of Oral Biology, Faculty of Dentistry, Modern University for Technology and Information, Cairo, Egypt.
Department of Oral Biology, Faculty of Dentistry, Cairo University, Egypt.
Dent Med Probl. 2021 Jul-Sep;58(3):311-319. doi: 10.17219/dmp/133514.
It has been proposed that epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is responsible for the pathogenesis of several diseases. However, the relationship between the EMT process and the severity of periodontitis has not been previously investigated.
This study aimed to localize and quantitatively assess the expression of transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-β1), vimentin and E-cadherin in correlation with the EMT process in human gingiva of periodontally diseased patients in comparison with halthy individuals.
Gingival tissue samples from 36 participants were divided into 2 groups: the healthy (control) group (n = 9); and the periodontitis group (n = 27). The periodontitis group was further subclassified into mild, moderate and severe periodontitis subgroups (9 patients in each subgroup). The samples were subjected to histological staining, the histomorphometric analysis and the quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT‑PCR) analysis for TGF-β, vimentin and E-catherin. Statistical and correlation analyses were performed.
The hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stain sections from both the moderate and severe periodontitis subgroups showed epithelial hyperplasia, perinuclear haloing and a marked increase in the inflammatory cell count as compared to the control group. The highest mean TGF-β1 and vimentin expression values were recorded in the severe periodontitis subgroup, whereas the lowest mean values were recorded in the control gingiva. On the contrary, the expression of E-catherin had the highest mean value in the control gingiva, whereas the lowest mean value was recorded in the severe periodontitis subgroup. All results were found to be statistically significant. The correlation analysis revealed a statistically significant positive correlation between the severity of periodontitis and the expression of TGF-β and vimentin, while a statistically significant inverse correlation was found between the expression of E-catherin and the severity of periodontitis.
There is a direct correlation between the severity of periodontitis and the expression of the EMT process markers (TGF-β and vimentin). This correlation indicates that EMT plays an important role in the pathogenesis and prognosis of periodontal disease. The data presented in this study could open the door for using anti-EMT agents in treating periodontal disease.
已有研究提出，上皮-间充质转化（EMT）与多种疾病的发病机制有关。然而，EMT 过程与牙周炎严重程度之间的关系尚未得到研究。
本研究旨在定位并定量评估转化生长因子-β1（TGF-β1）、波形蛋白和 E-钙黏蛋白在人牙周炎牙龈组织中的表达，同时分析 EMT 过程与牙周炎严重程度之间的关系。
将 36 名患者的牙龈组织样本分为 2 组：健康（对照组）组（n = 9）；牙周炎组（n = 27）。牙周炎组进一步分为轻度、中度和重度牙周炎亚组（每组 9 例）。对样本进行组织学染色、组织形态计量学分析和 TGF-β、波形蛋白和 E-钙黏蛋白的实时定量聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）分析。进行统计学和相关性分析。
与对照组相比，中度和重度牙周炎亚组的苏木精和伊红（H&E）染色切片显示上皮增生、核周晕和炎症细胞计数明显增加。重度牙周炎亚组 TGF-β1 和波形蛋白的表达值最高，而对照组的表达值最低。E-钙黏蛋白的表达值在对照组中最高，而在重度牙周炎亚组中最低。所有结果均具有统计学意义。相关性分析显示，牙周炎严重程度与 TGF-β 和波形蛋白的表达呈正相关，而 E-钙黏蛋白的表达与牙周炎严重程度呈负相关。
牙周炎严重程度与 EMT 过程标志物（TGF-β 和波形蛋白）的表达呈正相关。该相关性表明 EMT 在牙周病的发病机制和预后中发挥重要作用。本研究提供的数据为使用抗 EMT 剂治疗牙周病开辟了新的途径。
