Review of Osteoimmunology and the Host Response in Endodontic and Periodontal Lesions
Penn collection
Degree type
Discipline
Subject
bone
chemokine
cytokine
endodontic lesion
gingivitis
inflammation
periodontitis
Bacterial Infections and Mycoses
Bacteriology
Endodontics and Endodontology
Immunology and Infectious Disease
Periodontics and Periodontology
Funder
Grant number
License
Copyright date
Distributor
Related resources
Author
Contributor
Abstract
Both lesions of endodontic origin and periodontal diseases involve the host response to bacteria and the formation of osteolytic lesions. Important for both is the upregulation of inflammatory cytokines that initiate and sustain the inflammatory response. Also important are chemokines that induce recruitment of leukocyte subsets and bone-resorptive factors that are largely produced by recruited inflammatory cells. However, there are differences also. Lesions of endodontic origin pose a particular challenge since that bacteria persist in a protected reservoir that is not readily accessible to the immune defenses. Thus, experiments in which the host response is inhibited in endodontic lesions tend to aggravate the formation of osteolytic lesions. In contrast, bacteria that invade the periodontium appear to be less problematic so that blocking arms of the host response tend to reduce the disease process. Interestingly, both lesions of endodontic origin and periodontitis exhibit inflammation that appears to inhibit bone formation. In periodontitis, the spatial location of the inflammation is likely to be important so that a host response that is restricted to a subepithelial space is associated with gingivitis, while a host response closer to bone is linked to bone resorption and periodontitis. However, the persistence of inflammation is also thought to be important in periodontitis since inflammation present during coupled bone formation may limit the capacity to repair the resorbed bone.