Mechanical Periodontal Therapy Recovered the Phagocytic Function of Monocytes in Periodontitis.

BACKGROUND: Several studies have focused on the association between periodontitis and systemic implications; however, the biological mechanisms of the immune responses before and after periodontal therapy involved in this relationship, such as phagocytic functions, remain unclear. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate whether periodontal treatment improves the phagocytic function of blood monocytes in patients with severe periodontitis. Materials and Methods. A nonrandomized sample of 55 participants was enrolled in the study. Two groups were studied: control (n = 27, healthy subjects without periodontal disease) and patients (n = 27, healthy subjects without periodontal disease) and patients (. RESULTS: Periodontitis induced impaired phagocytosis by monocytes. Phagocytosis at baseline was significantly lower in periodontitis patients [median, 13.2 (range of 7.1 to 20.8) and 60.7 (40.6 to 88.6)] than in controls [27.4 (15.5 to 40.5)] and 98 (68.2 to 122.9)] for nonsensitized or sensitized samples, respectively. After supportive therapy, patients showed a significant enhancement of phagocytic functions [33.7 (14.6 to 53.2) and 108.5 (99.6 to 159.5)] for nonsensitized and sensitized samples, respectively. Periodontal treatment increased the phagocytic capacity to a level similar to that observed in the control group and improved the capacity of phagocytes to produce superoxide anion. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that periodontal therapy in patients with severe periodontitis provides a state of homeostasis due to the reestablishment of phagocytic function and increased production of NBT (Regional Registry No. RBR-24T799; Universal Registry No. U1111-1133-5512).

Atomic Force Microscopy Is a Potent Technique to Study Eosinophil Activation.

Eosinophils are multifunctional cells with several functions both in healthy individuals, and those with several diseases. Increased number and morphological changes in eosinophils have been correlated with the severity of an acute asthma exacerbation. We measured eosinophils obtained from healthy controls and individuals with acute asthma using atomic force microscopy (AFM). In the control samples, cells showed more rounded morphologies with some spreading, while activated cells from symptomatic individuals were spreading, and presenting emission of multiple pseudopods. Eosinophils presenting separate granules close to the cells suggesting some degranulation was also increased in asthma samples. In comparison to histopathological techniques based on brightfield microscopy, AFM showed considerably more details of these morphological changes, making the technique much more sensitive to detect eosinophil morphological changes that indicate functional alteration of this cell. AFM could be an important tool to evaluate diseases with alterations in eosinophil functions.