Lymphocyte subpopulation in healthy and diseased gingival tissue

In this study, infiltrating lymphocytes subpopulation in gingival sections of healthy, inflamed, and periodontitis lesions was investigated. A set of cluster of differentiation (CD) antigen specific monoclonal/polyclonal antibodies to detect different cell types within the tissues was used. These included anti-CD3 (pan T-cell), anti-CD45RO (memory T-cell), anti-CD20 (B-cell), and kappa light chain (plasma cells). Biopsies of gingival tissue were obtained from 17 patients who had clinically healthy gingiva, from 18 patients with gingivitis, and 17 patients with periodontitis. A significantly greater proportion of T-cells (P < 0.00) was observed in healthy gingival and gingivitis tissue samples compared to periodontitis tissue samples. In addition, a greater proportion of B-cells was observed in periodontitis lesions than in the gingival lesions (P < 0.00). The memory T-cells and the kappa light-chain plasma cells were present in both healthy and diseased tissues, suggestive of previous activation by periodontal pathogenic microorganisms. In conclusion, these differences in the relative proportions of B- and T-cells may reflect a difference in the immunopathology of periodontitis and gingivitis lesions.