The role of immune system in the development of periodontal disease: a brief review

Authors

  • Flávia Sammartino Mariano Faculadade de Odontologia de Piracicaba-UNICAMP
  • Janaina de Cássia Orlandi Sardi Faculadade de Odontologia de Piracicaba-UNICAMP
  • Cristiane Duque Faculdade de Odontologia de Nova Friburgo -UFF
  • José Francisco Höfling Faculadade de Odontologia de Piracicaba-UNICAMP
  • Reginaldo Bruno Gonçalves Faculadade de Odontologia de Piracicaba-UNICAMP

Keywords:

Immunology, periodontitis, cytokines, chemotaxis, antibodies

Abstract

Periodontitis is a highly complex and multi-factorial disease. This review summarizes some immunological factors involved in the development and control of this oral disease, such as: the participation of inflammatory cells in local inflammation, the synthesis of chemotaxis proteins with activation of the complement system and a range of antimicrobial peptides, such as defensins, cathelicidin and saposins. The integration of pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) from microorganisms with their surface receptors in the immune cells, induces the production of several cytokines and chemokines that presents either a pro- and/or anti-inflammatory role by stimulating the secretion of a great variety of antibody subtypes and the activation of mechanisms of controlling the disease, such as the regulatory T cells. Although several studies have tried to clarify some of the immune mechanisms involved in periodontal disease, more studies must be conducted to understand its development and progression and consequently to discover new alternatives for the prevention and treatment of this severe inflammatory disease.

Author Biographies

Flávia Sammartino Mariano, Faculadade de Odontologia de Piracicaba-UNICAMP

Departamento Diagnóstico Oral, Área de Microbiologia e Imunologia

Janaina de Cássia Orlandi Sardi, Faculadade de Odontologia de Piracicaba-UNICAMP

Departamento Diagnóstico Oral, Área de Microbiologia e Imunologia

Cristiane Duque, Faculdade de Odontologia de Nova Friburgo -UFF

Departamento de Odontologia - Área de Odontopediatria

José Francisco Höfling, Faculadade de Odontologia de Piracicaba-UNICAMP

Departamento Diagnóstico Oral, Área de Microbiologia e Imunologia

Reginaldo Bruno Gonçalves, Faculadade de Odontologia de Piracicaba-UNICAMP

Departamento Diagnóstico Oral, Área de Microbiologia e Imunologia Periodontology, Faculté de Médecine Dentaire, Université Laval, Québec, Province Québec, Canada

Downloads

Published

2010-08-17

Issue

Vol. 25 No. 3 (2010)

Section

Literature Review

License

COPYRIGHT
The submission of originals to Odonto Ciência implies the transfer by the authors of the right for publication. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication. If the authors wish to include the same data into another publication, they must cite Odonto Ciência as the site of original publication.

CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE
As this journal is open access, the articles are allowed free use in scientific and educational applications, with citation of the source.
According to the type of Creative Commons License (CC-BY 4.0) adopted by Odonto Ciência, the user must respect the requirements below.

You are free to:
Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format.
Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.

However, only under the following terms:
Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests Odonto Ciência endorses you or your use.
No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.

Notices:
You do not have to comply with the license for elements of the material in the public domain or where your use is permitted by an applicable exception or limitation.
No warranties are given. The license may not give you all of the permissions necessary for your intended use. For example, other rights such as publicity, privacy, or moral rights may limit how you use the material.

For more details on the Creative Commons license, please follow the link in the footer of this website.