The expression of human β-defensins (hBD-1, hBD-2, hBD-3, hBD-4) in gingival epithelia.

OBJECTIVE:The aim of this study was to analyze and compare the expression patterns of human β-defensin-4 (hBD-4) with those of hBD-1, hBD-2, and hBD-3 in healthy and chronically inflamed gingival tissues. MATERIALS AND METHODS:A total of 96 gingival samples were collected, comprising 46 biopsies from chronic periodontitis (CP) patients and 50 from individuals with healthy tissue. Of these, 21CP and 21 healthy samples were used to examine the protein expression of the hBDs by immunohistochemistry. The remaining 25CP and 29 healthy tissue samples were subjected to real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction to quantify the mRNA expression of the hBDs. RESULTS:All four types of β-defensin peptides were confined to the gingival epithelia. The percentage of samples positive for hBD-4 mRNA was significantly lower than the percentages for the other three β-defensins, both in healthy (p=0.003) and in inflamed (p=0.030) gingiva. However, in the case of the relative mRNA expression levels, that of hBD-4 was significantly higher than the levels for hBD-2 (healthy group: p<0.01; CP group: p<0.01) and hBD-3 (healthy group: p=0.004; CP group: p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS:Our study demonstrates differential expression of hBD-1, hBD-2, hBD-3, and hBD-4 in healthy and CP gingiva.

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