Purpose: The aim of this pilot study was to determine the relationship between gelatinase (MMP-9 and MMP-2) markers of soft tissue inflammation/turnover at the bone/soft tissue interface and bone turnover (osteocalcin [OC], pyridinoline cross-linked carboxyl-terminal telopeptide of type 1 collagen [ICTP], and bone fill) during healing of an alveolar bone defect.
Materials and methods: Ten subjects undergoing oral surgery had a 5 x 5-mm trephine defect created on an edentulous ridge and were sampled at the bone/soft tissue interface at baseline (prior to flap reflection), 2 weeks and 12 weeks postsurgery, using a novel bone wash device. Recovered irrigants were analyzed for MMP-9 and MMP-2 by gelatin zymography, OC and ICTP with radioimmunoassays, and albumin (ALB; to normalize markers for blood content) with a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Bone fill at 12 weeks was analyzed by radiographic absorptiometry.
Results: All markers of enzymatic activity and bone turnover varied significantly across time (P < or = .03), with bone turnover markers OC and ICTP decreasing between baseline and 2 weeks, and MMP-9 and MMP-2 increased. Measures generally returned to near baseline levels after 12 weeks. MMP-9 versus MMP-2 (r = 0.97, P < .0001) and OC versus ICTP (r = 0.38, P = .048) were correlated with each other, while MMP-9 and MMP-2 were negatively correlated with ICTP (r = -0.48, P = .011 and r = -0.62, P = .006, respectively). MMP-9 was negatively correlated with subsequent bone fill (r = -0.63, P = .07).
Conclusions: Bone wash sampling showed that gelatinase activity at 2 weeks following creation of an alveolar defect appeared to decrease bone turnover and eventual bone fill, suggesting benefits for anti-MMP therapy during wound healing.