Blastogenetic responsiveness of peripheral blood lymphocytes from patients with adult periodontitis, evaluated by a reverse hemolytic plaque assay.

Peripheral blood lymphocytes were obtained from 10 patients with advanced periodontitis and from 5 normal control subjects. The lymphocytes were cultured with dental plaque, supernatant of homologous fibroblast cytoplasm and Pokeweed-mitogen (PWM). The number of immunoglobulin-secreting cells (ISC) was assessed after 7 days using a reverse hemolytic plaque assay (RHPA). The stimulation levels of lymphocytes from periodontitis patients and control subjects stimulated with dental plaque and PWM were not statistically different (p greater than 0.05). In contrast, the number of ISC produced after stimulation with fibroblast cytoplasm was increased significantly in the patients group (p less than 0.05). These data support the hypothesis that autologous substances play an important rôle in the cellular immune responses of patients with severe chronic inflammatory periodontal disease (CIPD).