IFN-gammaR2 is strongly expressed on endothelial cells of gingival tissues from patients with chronic periodontitis.

OBJECTIVE: Chronic periodontitis (CP) is characterized by gingival inflammation and bone destruction. It has been reported that interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) levels are high in CP patients; however, the IFN-gamma receptor (IFN-gammaR) has not been studied in gingival tissue from these patients. To evaluate IFN-gamma levels and IFN-gammaR expression in gingival tissue biopsies from chronic periodontitis patients compared with healthy subjects (HS). MATERIAL AND METHODS: Gingival tissues were obtained from all study subjects, CP (n = 18) and healthy subjects (HS) (n = 12). A tissue section of each study subject was embedded in paraffin blocks to determine the expression of IFN-gamma R (IFN-gammaR1 and IFN-gammaR2) through immunohistochemistry. Another section of the tissue was homogenized and IFN-gamma was measured by the ELISA technique. RESULTS: No significant differences were found in the IFN-gammaR1 expression within the cell layers of the gingival tissue of the study groups. When analyzing the IFN-gammaR2 expression it was found that IFN-gammaR2 is strongly expressed in the endothelial cells of CP patients when compared to HS (p<0.05). IFN-gamma concentrations in the gingival tissue were significantly higher in CP patients than in HS. No significant correlation between IFN-gamma levels and the expression of IFN-gammaR1 and IFN-gammaR2 was found. However, a positive correlation between IFN-gamma levels and clinical parameters [probing depth (PD) and clinical attachment level (CAL)] was found. CONCLUSION: The study of IFN-gammaR expression in gingival tissue samples from patients with CP showed an increase only in the IFN-gammaR2 chain in endothelial cells when compared to HS.