Affiliations: Department of Periodontics and Oral Implantology, Dr.
D.Y. Patil Dental College and Hospital, Pimpri, Pune, India | Department of Prosthodontics, Chandra Dental College,
Safedabad, Lucknow, India
Note: [] Corresponding author: Dr. Rahul Kathariya, Department of
Periodontics and Oral Implantology, Dr. DY Patil Dental College and Hospital,
Pimpri, Pune-411018, India. Tel.: +91 8983370741; E-mail:
[email protected]
Abstract: Periodontal diseases are characterized by a complex set of biologic
interactions between a diverse and dynamic microbial ecosystem and the host's
multifaceted and responsive immune and inflammatory machinery. Such
interactions between microbial pathogens and various host response systems play
a critical role in the development and progression of periodontal disease via
the release of inflammatory and immune mediators. Advances in periodontal
disease diagnostic are moving toward methods whereby periodontal risk can be
identified and quantified by detecting such inflammatory mediators in its
sequential pathophysiology. Pentraxins (PTXs) are classical mediators of
inflammation and markers of acute-phase reaction. They are a super family of
multifunctional molecules characterized by multimeric structure, divided into
"short" PTXs and "long" PTXs. C-reactive protein (CRP) and pentraxin-3 (PTX3)
are prototypic molecules of the short and long PTX family, respectively.
Evidence suggests that PTXs acts as a non-redundant component of the humoral
arm of innate immunity, downstream of, and complementary to, cellular
recognition, as well as a tuner of inflammation. CRP is a cheaper biomarker and
more readily available in everyday clinical practice compared with other
inflammatory markers, on the other hand, PTX3 is believed to be the true
independent indicator of disease activity and could have clinical implication
in diagnosing the "at site" inflammatory status of the periodontal disease.
These pentraxins are sensitive and specific in the diagnosis and prognosis of
chronic diseases. Thus the pentraxins could be used as preferred biomarkers in
periodontal disease diagnosis.
