Background: We sought to compare the characteristics and clinical significance of extracellular traps of neutrophils in gingival samples of periodontitis and gingivitis. Methods: The clinical indexes of gingival samples from periodontitis and gingivitis were measured; the expression of TNF-alpha and IL-8 were measured by real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR; the expression of TLR-8 and MMP-9 were measured by Western blotting assays Chemotaxis, phagocytosis and phagocytic activity of neutrophils were measured.
Results: The periodontal clinical indexes of periodontitis and gingivitis samples were significantly higher than those of healthy people (P<0.05). There were significant differences in BOP, PD and CAL between periodontitis and gingivitis samples (P<0.05), but no differences in gingival index (GI) (P>0.05). Compared with the healthy group, the expressions of TNF-α and IL-8 in the periodontitis group and the gingivitis group increased significantly (P<0.05), and TNF-α in the gingivitis group was significantly lower than that in the healthy group (P<0.05). The expression of IL-8 in the periodontitis group was significantly higher than that in the periodontitis group (P<0.05); the expression of TLR-8 and MMP-9 in the periodontitis group was different from that in the gingivitis group and the healthy people group, and the expression of TLR-8 and MMP-9 in the gingivitis group was significantly different from that in the healthy people group (P<0.05); the neutrophil mobility index in healthy people was (3.02±0.53), and that in the periodontitis group was (2.21±0.13), and (2.31±0.12) in the gingiva. There were significant differences between the periodontitis group and the gingivitis group (P<0.05, P<0.05). The phagocytic ability and activity of neutrophils in healthy people were (392.03±20.04), (89.34±10.12), the periodontitis group was (360.32±18.23), (80.02±10.21), and the gingivitis group was (359.32±20.11), (78.93±17.32), respectively. There were significant differences between the periodontitis group and the gingivitis group and healthy people group (P<0.05, P<0.05).
Conclusion: The chemotaxis of neutrophils in gingival samples of periodontitis and gingivitis patients was decreased, the phagocytosis ability and activity of neutrophils were reduced, and the release of extracellular trap-releasing inducible factors TNF-alpha and IL-8 also declined.