Association of haptoglobin and natural resistance-associated macrophage protein 1 alleles with heme-consuming periodontal pathogens in chronic periodontitis and peri-implantitis: A pilot study

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to assess the association of haptoglobin (HP) and natural resistance-associated macrophage protein 1 (NRAMP1) alleles with the presence of heme-consuming periodontal pathogens in a group of Iranian patients with chronic periodontitis and peri-implantitis. METHODS: This cross-sectional study evaluated 69 eligible chronic periodontitis and peri-implantitis patients selected from Shahid Beheshti Dental School. The periodontally diseased individuals had at least three teeth with clinical attachment loss of ≥3 mm and a probing pocket depth (PPD) of ≥3 mm in at least two quadrants. Peri-implant PPD of at least one site was ≥5 mm with or without suppuration and bleeding on probing. A plaque index of >20% and a radiographic crestal bone loss was present in at least one site around the implant. The paper point method was used for sampling from the deepest periodontal/peri-implant pocket of each tooth or implant for the DNA checkerboard hybridization technique. Statistical analyses were performed with PASW Statistics 18.0. The variables were presented as absolute and relative frequencies (%). RESULTS: An Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (A. actinomycetemcomitans) score of 1–2 was 5.8 times more frequent in HP 2, rs1723540 G, and rs2276631 G alleles. A Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis) score of 1–2 was 4.8 times more common in the subjects carrying HP 2, rs1723540 G, and rs2276631 G alleles compared with HP 1, rs1723540 A, and rs2276631 A alleles. CONCLUSION: Within the limitations of this study, it seems that there was a relationship between HP and NRAMP1 allele frequencies and the presence of heme-consuming periodontal pathogens in the Iranian patients with chronic periodontitis and peri-implantitis evaluated in the present study.