Chemoluminescence generation and MTT dye reduction by polymorphonuclear leukocytes from periodontal disease patients

Alterations of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) functions have been reported in patients with severe forms of some periodontal disease. In this study we evaluated the chemoluminescence generation and MTT dye reduction by human PMN in patients with juvenile periodontitis (JP), rapidly progressive periodontitis (RPP) and adult periodontitis (AP) during protein kinase C (PKC) activation or during the phagocytosis of opsonized zymosan. The results demonstrated that only PMNs of JP patients showed a decreased chemoluminescence generation and MTT dye reduction during the phagocytosis of opsonized zymosan (p < 0.05). The time to reach the maximal peak during the PKC activation on the chemoluminescence reaction was evaluated and JP PMNs patients demonstrated a depressed value (7.0 ± 0.4 min) compared with healthy volunteers (13.8 ± 0.5 min). The etiology and importance of such cellular alterations in the immunopathogenesis of the periodontal disease are discussed.