Role of Neutrophils in Periodontitis: A Review Subbiah Harini Venkata1, Subbiah Usha2,*, Ajith Athira1, Polani Ramesh Babu3 1Senior Research Fellow, Human Genetics Laboratory, Sree Balaji Dental College and Hospital, 2Associate Professor, Human Genetics Laboratory, Sree Balaji Dental College and Hospital, 3Professor and Head, Department of Genetic Engineering, Bharath Institute of Higher Education and Research, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India *Corresponding Author: Dr. Usha Subbiah, Associate Professor, Human Genetics Laboratory, Sree Balaji Dental College and Hospital, Bharath Institute of Higher Education and Research, Chennai-600 100, Tamil Nadu, India, e-mail: ushat75@yahoo.com, Tel: +91 8248707203
Online published on 31 March, 2020. Abstract Periodontitis is a multifactorial disease caused by periodontopathic bacteria and influenced by both environmental and genetic factors. In a healthy oral environment, there is a balance between symbiotic bacteria and when this balance is breached, inflammation appears and more immune cells are recruited to the site of infection. Neutrophils are the professional antimicrobial phagocytes that form the first line of defense against bacterial invasion in periodontal disease and connect innate and adaptive arms of the immune response. Neutrophils efficiently control pathogens by oxygen-dependent and oxygen-independent antimicrobial mechanisms and by neutrophil extracellular traps. Some studies indicate that excessive neutrophils are responsible for tissue damage and disease progression in periodontitis whereas other studies indicate that neutrophil deficiencies in patients also result in the periodontal condition. Top Keywords Periodontitis, Neutrophil, defensin, neutrophil extracellular traps. Top |