Blastogenic responsiveness of peripheral blood mononuclear cells from individuals with various forms of periodontitis and effects of treatment

Abstract Experiments were done to learn whether or not the blastogenic responsiveness of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBM) from 34 patients to mitogens and homogenates of a panel of periodontal bacteria differs significantly from that of cells from 16 normal individuals. Groups of control individuals and patients with juvenile (JP), rapidly progressive (RP) and adult periodontitis (AP) were formed. Blastogenic responsiveness was assessed after 72 and 120 h incubation by measuring the uptake of radioactive precursor into DNA. Bacterial preparations and mitogens used as stimulators included Bacteroides melaninogemcus (BMEL), Capnocytophaga (CAPNO), Fusobacterium nucleatum (FUSO), Actinomyces viscosus (AVIS), phytohemagglutinin (PHA), and pokeweed mitogen (PWM). When the data were calculated as Stimulation Index (E/C), responsiveness of cells from patients with AP and JP was enhanced relative to that of cells from normal control subjects, but the enhancement was not statistically significant. In contrast, responsiveness of cells from RP patients to FUSO and AVIS was significantly suppressed. Except in the case of AP cells activated with PHA, mitogenic responsiveness of all patient cells was significantly suppressed. When responsiveness was calculated as E minus C, these differences between patient and control cells disappeared except for suppression of the level of blastogenesis by AP and RP cells exposed to AVIS. After 120 h incubation, unstimulated cultures of AP cells incorporated significantly less, and RP cells significantly more, radioactivity than did unstimulated cultures from normal individuals indicating an abnormal autologous mixed lymphocyte reaction. Cells were harvested and tested from a group of AP patients before, during and following periodontal therapy. PBM responsiveness to horaogenates of CAPNO did not change significantly during therapy, but responsiveness to all of the other bacterial preparations including autologous plaque increased following initial therapy. Values for AVIS, FUSO, and PLAQ were statistically significant. Responsiveness to the bacterial preparations either remained at the enhanced levels or increased to even greater levels following completion of therapy, except in the case of autologous plaque, where the values had begun to return toward pretreatment levels. In addition, responsiveness to PWM and PHA dropped to about one-half the pretreatment values and responsiveness of unstimtilated cultures increased significantly to levels observed in cultures of ceils from normal donors.