Sorsa T, Uitto V-J, Suomalainen K, Vauhkonen M, Lindy S.: Comparison of interstitial coliagenases from human gingiva, sulcular fluid and polymorphonuclear leukocytes. J Periodont Res 1988: 23: 386-393. Mammalian coliagenases (EC 3.4,24,7) have been suggested as playing an essential role in the initiation of the collagen degradation in periodontal diseases. Two distinct types of interstitial coliagenases have been characterized in vertebrate tissues. These enzymes, the fibrobiast-and the neutrophil-type coliagenases,, differ in molecular weight and antigenic properties, as well as substrate specificity and mechanism of activation. In order to determine the cellular origin and mode of action of coliagenase in periodontal tissue, we studied the molecular size, the substrate specificity and the activation of coliagenases partially purified from inflamed human gingival extracts, sulcular fluid, gingival expiant culture medium and polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN). Types I, II and III collagens used as substrates were purifted from bovine tendon, cartilage and amnion membrane, respectively. Apparent molecular weights of 70-75 k were obtained for gingival extract, sulcular fluid and PMN coliagenases and 45 k for gingival expiant culture collagenase by gel filtration technique. The gingival extract and sulcular fiuid coliagenases as well as PMN collagenase could be activated by gold thioglucose and gold thiomalate; no activation of gingival expiant culture collagenase was noted. The gingival extract collagenase. sulcular fluid collagenase and PMN collagenase degraded preferentially types I and 11 collagens relative to type-Ill collagen. In contrast, gingival expiant culture coliagenase degraded preferentially types I and III collagens relative to type-II collagen. The results indicate that collagenase in extracts of inflamed human gingiva and in sulcular fluid during inflammation is mostly derived from PMN cells. On the other hand, collagenase produced by gingival explants in culture is probably synthesized by fibrobiasts.

Persistently elevated GCF MMP-8 concentrations may indicate sites at risk, as well as patients with poor response to conventional periodontal treatment (e.g. SRP). MMP-8 testing may be useful as an adjunct to traditional periodontal diagnostic methods during the maintenance phase.

Activation of latent human fibroblast-type and neutrophil interstitial procollagenases as well as degradation of native type I collagen by supraand subgingival dental plaque extracts, an 80-kDa trypsinlike protease from Porphyromas gingivalis (ATCC 33277), a 95-kDa chymotrypsinlike protease from Treponema denticola (ATCC 29522), and selected bacterial species commonly isolated in periodontitis was studied. The bacteria included were PrevotelUa intermedia (ATCC 25261), PrevoteUla buccae (ES 57), PrevoteUa oris (ATCC 33573), Porphyromonas endodontalis (ES 54b), Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans (ATCC 295222), Fusobacterium nukeatum (ATCC 10953), Mitsuokela dentalis (DSM 3688), and Streptococcus mitis (ATCC 15909). None of the bacteria activated latent procollagenases; however, both sub-and supragingival dental plaque extracts (neutral salt extraction) and proteases isolated from cell extracts from potentially periodontopathogenic bacteria P. gingivalis and T. denticola were found to activate latent human fibroblast-type and neutrophil interstitial procollagenases. The fibroblast-type interstitial collagenase was more efficiently activated by bacterial proteases than the neutrophil counterpart, which instead preferred nonproteolytic activation by the oxidative agent hypochlorous acid. The proteases were not able to convert collagenase tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP-1) complexes into active form or to change the ability of TIMP-1 to inhibit interstitial collagenase. None of the studied bacteria, proteases from P. gingivalis and T. denticola, or extracts of supraand subgingival dental plaque showed any significant collagenolytic activity. However, the proteases degraded native and denatured collagen fragments after cleavage by interstitial collagenase and gelatinase. Our results indicate that proteases from periodontopathogenic bacteria can act as direct proteolytic activators of human procollagenases and degrade collagen fragments. Thus, in concert with host enzymes the bacterial proteases may participate in periodontal tissue destruction.

BackgroundInflammatory processes are considered to participate in the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Statins have been used successfully in the prevention and treatment of coronary heart disease. Chronic periodontitis has been suggested to contribute to CVD. The aim of this study was to examine the association of statin use and clinical markers of chronic periodontitis.MethodsPeriodontal probing pocket depth (PPD) values were collected from dental records of 100 consecutive adult patients referred to a university dental clinic for treatment of advanced chronic periodontitis. A novel index, Periodontal Inflammatory Burden Index (PIBI), was derived from the PPD values to estimate systemic effects of periodontitis.ResultsPeriodontitis patients taking statins had a 37% lower number of pathological periodontal pockets than those without statin medication (P = 0.00043). PIBI, which combines and unifies the data on PPD, was 40% smaller in statin using patients than in patients without statin (P = 0.00069). PIBI of subjects on simvastatin and atorvastatin both differed significantly from patients without statin and were on the same level. The subjects' number of teeth had no effect on the resultsConclusionPatients on statin medication exhibit fewer signs of periodontal inflammatory injury than subjects without the statin regimen. PIBI provides a tool for monitoring inflammatory load of chronic periodontitis. The apparent beneficial effects of statins may in part be mediated by their pleiotropic anti-inflammatory effect on periodontal tissue.

Saliva collected from subjects with healthy and with diseased periodontium was assayed for collagenase activity by incubation at 25 degrees C with soluble type I, II or III collagen. The degradation products were analyzed by separation in SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis followed either by protein staining or by exposure of the dried gel to X-ray film in the case of radioactively labeled type I collagen. Collagenase of vertebrate type was detected in the whole saliva of all subjects but not in parotid, sublingual or submandibular fluids. Most of the collagenase was in the soluble fraction of saliva that also contained factors which both activated and inhibited the enzyme. The salivary collagenase resembled the collagenase of human PMNs and gingival sulcular fluid in its molecular size of 70,000 daltons, in its activation by gold thioglucose and in its tendency to degrade types I and II collagens over type III collagen. Before periodontal treatment, the saliva of periodontitis patients had significantly higher collagenase than after treatment. In periodontitis, collagenase existed mainly in the active form, while in the healthy mouths most of the enzyme was latent but could be activated by sulfhydryl reagents or proteolytically with trypsin, and chymotrypsin but not by human plasma kallikrein or plasmin. In some of the samples from untreated periodontitis patients bacterial collagenase may have been present in small quantities. Most of the collagenase in the saliva from all subjects appeared to originate from PMNs entering the oral cavity through the gingival sulcus.

Sorsa T, Uitto V-J, Suomalainen K, Turto H and Lindy S: A trypsin-like protease from Bacteroides gingivalis: partial purification and characterization. J Periodont Res 1987; 22: 375-380. Extracts of cell sonicates of Bacteroides gingivalis were shown to contain proteolytic enzymes capable of degrading connective tissue proteins. In this study, neutral proteolytic enzymes, i.e. coilagenase and a trypsin-like protease, were isolated. The trypsin-like protease was readily separated from coliagenase by affinity chromatography on Benzamidine-Sepharose, Proteases were further purified by gel filtration on Sephacryl S-200; apparent molecular weights of 35 kDa and 70 kDa were obtained for a trypsin-like protease and coilagenase, respectively. Further characterization of the potent trypsin-like protease showed that the enzyme was inhibited by serine protease inhibitors phenylmethylsulfonyl fiuoride and benzamidine and by metalloprotease inhibitor EDTA, as well as ascorbic acid. Activation of the enzyme was observed with reducing agents and human serum. The trypsin-like protease was found to be capable of degrading native type IV collagen and denatured type I collagen but not native type I collagen. Thus, we conclude that in addition to coUagenase a potent trypsin-like protease from Bacteroides gingivalis may be involved in the etiopathogenesis of periodontal disease. Since the trypsin-like protease is able to degrade the basement membrane collagen (type IV) in the presence of human serum, this enzyme may be a potent virulence factor of Bacteroides gingivalis in relation to invasiveness and connective tissue destruction.

The concentrations of doxycycline and 4-de-dimethylaminotetracycline required to inhibit 50% of collagenase activity were found to be 15 to 30 ,uM for human neutrophil and gingival crevicular fluid collagenases. Fibroblast collagenase was relatively resistant to inhibition by tetracyclines; the 50% inhibitory concentrations of doxycycline and 4-de-dimethylaminotetracycline were 280 and 510 ,uM, respectively.Interstitial collagenases (EC 3.4.24.7) are considered to be key initiators of collagen degradation during the progression of inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, corneal ulceration, and periodontal diseases. Elevated tissue levels of collagenase have been detected in these inflammatory diseases characterized by excessive collagen degradation. Both the amount of the enzyme and its conversion to an active form, possibly mediated by the action of proteinases and/or reactive oxygen metabolites, are increased during inflammation. Although the cellular origin(s) of collagenases in these diseases remains unclear, resident fibroblasts and epithelial cells as well as infiltrating leukocytes (neutrophils and macrophages) are considered potential sources of the enzymes (1,4,14,(23)(24)(25). Fibroblast-type interstitial collagenase (matrix metalloproteinase 1 or MMP-1), which is also produced by epithelial cells and monocyte/macrophages, and neutrophil interstitial collagenase (MMP-8) are distinct gene products and differ in their immunologic characteristics and substrate specificities (7,12,24). In addition, the physiological inhibitors a2-macroglobulin and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases have been found to inhibit the fibroblast collagenase more efficiently than the neutrophil collagenase (3, 27).Recently, Golub et al. (9) discovered a new, nonantimicrobial property of tetracyclines-an ability to inhibit the activity of interstitial collagenases from a variety of cellular and tissue sources. This effect has been confirmed by other investigators (4, 15), Moreover, a chemical modification of the tetracycline molecule that eliminates its antimicrobial efficiency does not result in a loss of its ability to inhibit collagenase (10). The specificity of the effect was partially addressed in a study showing that the tumor cell-derived type IV collagenase/gelatinase (MMP-2) can also be inhibited by tetracyclines (29). However, the ability of these drugs to inhibit different types of interstitial collagenases ' has not yet been investigated. We report here the differential susceptibility of human neutrophil and fibroblast interstitial collagenases to inhibition by a commercial antimicrobial tetracycline, doxycycline (DOXY) and by a chemically modified nonantimicrobial tetracycline (4-de-dimethylaminotetracycline or CMT-1) (10). Furthermore, we addressed * Corresponding author. the cellular source of collagenase in the inflammatory exudate of the human periodontal pocket (also called the gingival crevicular fluid) by using tetracycline inhibition as a probe.4-Aminophenylmercuric acetate and phenylmethylsul...

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