Abstract
The autologous mixed lymphocyte reaction (AMLR) which is suggested as a possible indicator of immunoregulation in inflammatory diseases, was evaluated in the patients with adult periodontitis. Thirty one of 80 patients (39%) showed significantly lower responses in AMLR (<mean-2SD of the healthy control group; low-AMLR patients) . However, there was no significant differences in the clinical parameters between low-AMLR and normal-AMLR patients. Phenotypic analysis of T cell and non-T cell fractions revealed that the percentage of CD45R (A) -positive cells in CD4-positive cells (CD4+CD45R+cells) was significantly lower in low-AMLR patients than in normal-AMLR patients, while no significant differences was found in the percentages of CD4+, CD8+ T cells, B cells and monocytes.
Interleukin-2 production in AMLR was also significantly depressed only in low-AMLR patients. Depressed AMLR responses and lower proportions of CD4+CD45R+ cells in the low-AMLR patients were recovered during conventional periodontal therapy. These results suggested that there could be a subgroup showing low AMLR responses in clinically-diagnosed“adult periodontitis”patients. It was also suggested that there could be phenotypic and functional disorders in peripheral blood T cells in these patients, which might be closely related to the depression of AMLR. In addition, depressed AMLR responses in these low-AMLR patients might reflect changes in regulatory T cell function induced by the state of periodontal diseases.
