The aim of the present study was to characterize the eventual presence and molecular forms of gelatinase/type IV collagenase activities in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) and saliva in different forms of periodontitis; patients with clinically healthy periodontium served as controls. Enzyme activities were monitored electrophoretically by zymography using gelatin and type IV collagen as substrates and analyzed visually and/or densitometrically. Both saliva and GCF collected from adult periodontitis, localized juvenile periodontitis and type II diabetes mellitus periodontitis patients contained species moving identically with gelatinase isolated from human neutrophils or MMP-9 (mean 98 kD), and species with mobility similar to gelatinase in fibroblast cell culture supernatants or MMP-2 (mean 76 kD). Hitherto, undescribed high molecular weight forms (mean 128 kD), were found, possibly representing polymerized or complexed enzyme active/activated in situ in the gel matrix. Small molecular forms of gelatinases (mean 51 kD and 46 kD), unable to cleave type IV collagen, were also found, most likely representing in vivo proteolytically activated, truncated enzymes. Although multiple forms of gelatinases/type IV collagenases in saliva and GCF may take part in the tissue destruction in periodontitis, their profile judged according to molecular weights does not differentiate between different forms of periodontitis.

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), a pro-inflammatory cytokine, can stimulate matrix metalloproteinase synthesis and osteoclastic bone resorption. We hypothesized that elevated expression of TNF-alpha and its p55 and p75 receptors (TNF-R) in gingival tissue might associate with periodontitis. Immunohistochemistry was used for the study of the localization of TNF-alpha and its p55 and p75 TNF-R in adult periodontitis (AP) gingival tissue, in comparison with that in healthy control specimens. TNF-alpha and p55 TNF-R were detected in sulcular epithelial basal cells and in monocyte/macrophages, fibroblasts, and endothelial cells in the AP gingival tissue specimens, but mainly in fibroblasts and endothelial cells in control specimens. P75 TNF-R was occasionally found in monocyte/macrophage-like cells in gingival tissue specimens. The percentage of TNF-alpha-containing cells was not increased in AP compared with controls (13.2%+/-6.1% vs. 12.8%+/-7.6%), but, due to the increased cellularity of AP samples, the number of TNF-alpha positive cells/mm2 was clearly increased (1621+/-663 vs. 664+/-191, p > 0.001). Thus, AP gingival tissue has an elevated expression of TNF-alpha and especially its p55 receptor, suggesting that TNF-alpha may contribute to tissue degradation in periodontitis.

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Objective-To compare the distribution and the amount of transforming growth factor 0 (TGFO) in labial salivary glands (LSG) in patients with Sjogren's syndrome (SS) and healthy controls.

The neutron powder diffraction pattern of orthorhombic C2D2 at 4.2 K has been re-examined by the Rietveld profile-refinement technique. The final values for Rt were 5-16% and 3.67%, respectively, for least-squares refinements with isotropic and anisotropic thermal parameters.

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The powder pattern of crystalline cubic deuterated acetylene recorded by thermal neutron diffraction technique and the Pa3 crystal structure assigned to the high phase of C2H2 are com-pared. The observations are not in disagreement with the theoretical pattern. Values for the lattice parameters in a narrow temperature range are given.