Viral serological and molecular data on possible involvement of herpes viruses in periodontal disease

Cristiana Antipa; Coralia Bleotu; Camelia Grancea; Andreea Oana Rosu; Gabriela Anton; Simona Ruta

doi:10.1016/j.sdj.2016.10.002

Viral serological and molecular data on possible involvement of herpes viruses in periodontal disease

Singapore Dent J. 2016 Dec:37:15-19. doi: 10.1016/j.sdj.2016.10.002.

Authors

Cristiana Antipa¹, Coralia Bleotu², Camelia Grancea², Andreea Oana Rosu³, Gabriela Anton², Simona Ruta²

Affiliations

¹ Titu Maiorescu University, Faculty of Dental Medicine, Bucharest, Romania. Electronic address: cristiana_antipa@yahoo.com.
² Stefan S Nicolau Institute of Virology, Bucharest, Romania.
³ Titu Maiorescu University, Faculty of Dental Medicine, Bucharest, Romania.

PMID: 27916250
DOI: 10.1016/j.sdj.2016.10.002

Abstract

Background: Recent studies have suggested that latent herpes virus infections can be associated with chronic periodontal sites that exhibit a predisposition to disease progression. The aim of this study was to identify the possible relationship between infections with CMV and EBV and the severity of periodontal disease.

Materials and methods: Fifty two patients aged between 27 and 70 years, diagnosed with periodontal disease were enrolled in the study after giving informed consent. Quantitative immunoenzymatic assays were used to determine the concentration of anti CMV and EBV antibodies. The presence of CMV and EBV DNA was tested in biopsies from periodontal tissues using an in-house PCR adapted after a method described previously.

Results and conclusions: Higher titers of the anti CMV antibodies appear to be correlated with the severity of the periodontal lesions (p<0, 05). These correlations have not been found for anti EBV antibodies. Higher titers of specific anti CMV and EBV antibodies were correlated with a history of periodontal treatment (p<0, 05). Only two samples were positive for the viral genome. Both samples were collected from female patients diagnosed with very advanced forms of periodontal disease. Although the molecular biology data from the present study do not support the pathogenic involvement of EBV or CMV in the development of chronic periodontitis lesions, the serological data might be important markers for the evolution and severity of the periodontal disease.

Keywords: Chronic periodontitis; Cytomegalovirus; Epstein Barr virus.