Hematogenous apoptotic mechanism in salivary glands in chronic periodontitis.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study is to investigate the apoptotic mechanism in salivary glands in the rat experimental periodontitis model. DESIGN: A rat periodontitis model was prepared by using a ligature around the second upper molar. In the salivary (parotid and submandibular) glands and blood samples, putative apoptotic factors and pathway molecules were investigated in vivo and in vitro. RESULTS: Four weeks of ligation (chronic periodontitis) demonstrated significant apoptotic atrophy of the salivary gland, but one week of ligation (initial periodontitis) did not. In the blood plasma, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) was increased in the periodontitis model, but interleukin-1beta and -6 were not. TNF-alpha receptor type 1, which has an intracellular apoptotic pathway, was expressed in the salivary glands of rats. Western blot analysis of cultured rat primary salivary gland cells demonstrated that TNF-alpha induced cleavage of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) and caspase-3 in a dose-dependent manner, indicating apoptosis induction. Additionally, we found increment of circulating lymphocytes in the model. Expression of mRNA and immunoreactive cells for the B lymphocyte marker CD19 were increased in the salivary gland in the model. Western blotting showed that coculture with extracted B cells from the periodontitis model increased cleaved PARP in salivary gland cells. CONCLUSIONS: Chronic periodontitis status leads to an increase in circulating TNF-alpha and B lymphocyte infiltration, resulting in apoptotic atrophy of the salivary gland as a periodontitis-induced systemic response.