Liu Qian, Wang Axian, Guo Donghui, Luo Houzhuo, Fang Shishu, Song Zhixin, Wen Yi, Jin Fang
State Key Laboratory of Military Stomatology and National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases and Shaanxi Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Department of Orthodontics, School of Stomatology, Air Force Medical University, Xi'an, China.
Department of Stomatology, General Hospital of Southern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, Guangzhou, China.
Front Immunol. 2025 May 6;16:1490637. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1490637. eCollection 2025.
Changes in oral neutrophil number and function may occur in patients after orthodontic treatment, affecting the oral immune microenvironment. However, the specific mechanisms are unclear. In this study, we describe the changes in the levels of neutrophil extracellular traps (NET) markers and inflammatory factors in the gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) and saliva of patients after orthodontic treatment and further explore the correlation between them.
68 patients underwent fixed orthodontic treatment in the Department of Orthodontics from January 2021 to June 2023 were selected. GCF and saliva samples were collected from the patients 1 day before orthodontic treatment and 2 h, 24 h, and 1 week after orthodontic treatment to evaluate changes in NET marker and inflammatory factors. The differences in and associations between NET markers and inflammatory cytokine levels in the GCF and saliva of patients were evaluated.
After fixed orthodontic treatment, the neutrophil elastase (NE), myeloperoxidase (MPO), citrullinated histone 3 (CitH3), and MPO-DNA in the GCF and saliva of the patients increased gradually, the interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-8 in the GCF increased gradually, and there were significant differences among the different time points (P<0.05). There was a positive correlation between the NE, MPO, CitH3, MPO-DNA, IL-1β and IL-8 in the GCF of patients at 2 hours and 24 hours after orthodontic treatment (P<0.05). There was a significant positive correlation between the GCF and saliva levels of NE, MPO, CitH3, MPO-DNA, IL-1β and IL-8 (P<0.05); however, there was no statistically sex- or age-dependent differences in the NE, MPO, CitH3, MPO-DNA, IL-1β and IL-8 levels in the GCF of orthodontic patients (P>0.05).
This study significantly reveals that NET marker levels in the GCF and saliva rapidly change following the initial orthodontic arch wire stress. The inflammation in periodontal tissues induced by orthodontic stress has the potential to trigger oral inflammation via the GCF. These findings are crucial for understanding the oral immune microenvironment changes during orthodontic treatment, providing a theoretical basis for preventing and treating orthodontic - related periodontal complications, thus having important implications for improving orthodontic treatment outcomes.
正畸治疗后的患者口腔中性粒细胞数量和功能可能会发生变化，从而影响口腔免疫微环境。然而，具体机制尚不清楚。在本研究中，我们描述了正畸治疗后患者龈沟液（GCF）和唾液中中性粒细胞胞外陷阱（NET）标志物及炎症因子水平的变化，并进一步探讨它们之间的相关性。
选取2021年1月至2023年6月在正畸科接受固定正畸治疗的68例患者。在正畸治疗前1天以及正畸治疗后2小时、24小时和1周采集患者的GCF和唾液样本，以评估NET标志物和炎症因子的变化。评估患者GCF和唾液中NET标志物与炎症细胞因子水平的差异及相关性。
固定正畸治疗后，患者GCF和唾液中的中性粒细胞弹性蛋白酶（NE）、髓过氧化物酶（MPO）、瓜氨酸化组蛋白3（CitH3）和MPO-DNA逐渐升高，GCF中的白细胞介素（IL）-1β和IL-8逐渐升高，不同时间点之间存在显著差异（P<0.05）。正畸治疗后2小时和24小时患者GCF中的NE、MPO、CitH3、MPO-DNA、IL-1β和IL-8之间呈正相关（P<0.05）。GCF和唾液中NE、MPO、CitH3、MPO-DNA、IL-1β和IL-8水平之间存在显著正相关（P<0.05）；然而，正畸患者GCF中NE、MPO、CitH3、MPO-DNA、IL-1β和IL-8水平在性别和年龄方面无统计学差异（P>0.05）。
本研究显著揭示了正畸初始弓丝加力后GCF和唾液中NET标志物水平迅速变化。正畸应力诱导的牙周组织炎症有可能通过GCF引发口腔炎症。这些发现对于理解正畸治疗期间口腔免疫微环境变化至关重要，为预防和治疗正畸相关牙周并发症提供了理论依据，从而对改善正畸治疗效果具有重要意义。
