During chemotherapy, patients with cancer present a more complex oral microbiota under favorable conditions for their development during immunosuppression, and these may be responsible for different serious local or systemic pathologies.

Considering that the ability of DCs to regulate immunity is dependent on DC maturation, results suggest that predominance of imDCs appears to be involved in AgP pathogenesis, probably due to lack of ability to induce immune cell activation. Further studies are necessary to elucidate the role of DC maturation in regulating immune responses in periodontal disease.

NSPT had a beneficial impact on clinical and immunological parameters of CP, reduction of oral Candida counts, and improvement of HIV-infection status.

Patients with breast cancer who were undergoing chemotherapy responded to periodontal non-surgical therapy, although with less favorable results than patients with periodontitis without cancer, and may require additional or adjunctive periodontal treatments.

Background and Objective Some studies suggest that regulatory T cells (Tregs) have suppressive effects on inflammatory osteolysis. The aim of this study was to evaluate Treg immunomarkers in periodontitis‐affected tissues from patients with periodontitis and clinically healthy gingiva (control). Material and Methods The presence and distribution of positive cells for CD4, CD25 and FOXP3 (Treg immunomarkers) in periodontitis‐affected tissues (epithelium and lamina propria) of 30 patients (ten per group) with a diagnosis of stage IV, grade C periodontitis (IV‐C), stage III, grade B periodontitis (III‐B) and the control were evaluated. A two‐way ANOVA followed by Fisher's LSD test was used to demonstrate differences between the groups and immunomarkers; Student's t test was used to demonstrate differences between the epithelium and the lamina propria. Results Both IV‐C and III‐B periodontitis presented a significantly high proportion of immune‐stained cells for all immunomarkers when compared to the control group. Notably, CD25+ and FOXP3+ cells were detected in a significantly higher number in III‐B than IV‐C periodontitis (P < .05). Conclusion Our results suggest the participation of Tregs on the osteoimmunological mechanisms in IV‐C and III‐B periodontitis patients, notably contributing to strategies for alveolar bone regeneration in clinical treatment decisions.

Background The aim of the present study was to evaluate the methylation pattern in the suppressor of cytokine signaling 1 (SOCS1) gene in smokers and non‐smokers with chronic periodontitis (CP). Methods Methylation‐specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed to determine the methylation status of the SOCS1 promoter in 45 saliva samples from smokers and non‐smokers with CP. Results Cells from the saliva of CP patients who smoked were 7.08 times more likely to have a methylated SOCS1 promoter than cells from the saliva of non‐smoking patients. Conclusions SOCS1 gene promoter methylation, with its potential effects on the expression of this gene, seems to be a consequence of exposure to tobacco and not to periodontal disease. Further studies are needed to elucidate the relationship between the epigenetic control of immune response gene expression, exposure to environmental factors, and the development, progression, and prognosis of CP.

No abstract

Probiotics have aroused great interest as an adjunctive treatment to periodontal therapy, due to the frequent colonisation by periodontopathogens after therapy. The aim of this systematic review was to analyse in the scientific literature, evidence of the microbiological effects of probiotics as an adjunct to periodontal therapy in the treatment of periodontal diseases (PD). Only randomised controlled trials (RCT), evaluating the microbiological effect of probiotics as an adjunct to periodontal therapy. The authors conducted a search in PubMed/MEDLINE, LILACS, ScienceDirect, Web of Science and Cochrane Library to identify articles published in English until February 2020. The quality of the studies was assessed using the JADAD scale and the risk of bias was assessed according to the Cochrane Collaboration assessment tool. Of the 265 articles potentially relevant to this review, 10 studies were included. The most frequently used probiotic bacteria were those of the genus Lactobacillus spp. and the time of administration of the probiotics was between 14 days to 3 months. Most studies have shown that the adjuvant use of probiotics reduces the total mean counts of gram-negative anaerobic species (Porphyromonas gingivalis, Tannerella forsythia, Treponema denticola and Prevotella intermedia) and gram-negative coccobacillus (Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans) of subgingival plaque samples. Probiotics adjuvant to periodontal therapy reduces periodontopathogenic species in a greater proportion, compared only to periodontal therapy. Especially the Lactobacillus reuteri strain, without combination with other strains, offered a greater reduction in pathogenic bacteria associated with greater destruction of periodontal tissues and deep periodontal pockets. Researchers should perform high-quality RCT, evaluating single strains without combinations, in order to observe the microbiological benefits as adjunctive treatment of PD.