Abstract:
Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a major risk factor for the development of periodontal disease and aggravates the severity of periodontal conditions. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are known to degrade periodontal ligament attachment and bone matrix proteins. Increased expression of CD147 is associated with increased synthesis of several MMPs, being a modulator of MMP expression, including that of MMP-14. The purpose of this study was to quantify and compare the expressions of MMP-14 and CD147 in gingival tissues of patients with and without type 2 diabetes mellitus. Material and Methods: In this histological study, we included 33 subjects with periodontal disease: 16 patients with type 2 DM (test group) and 17 systemically healthy patients (control group). Tissue fragments were processed using an immunohistochemistry technique to determine immunoreactivity (IR) intensity of MMP-14 and CD147. Results: In the group of diabetes patients with periodontitis, 56.2% showed weak positive expressions (+), while 43.8% had intensely positive expressions (+++) of MMP-14. Statistically significant differences between test and control groups (p = 0.004, p = 0.883, and p = 0.002) were found for the membranous IR intensity of MMP-14. In the group of diabetes patients with periodontitis, 56.2% had moderate positive expressions (++) of CD 147, while 43.8% showed intensely positive expressions (+++). Statistically significant differences between the test and control groups were found (p = 0.001, p = 0.002, and p = 0.003) for the membranous IR intensity of CD147. Conclusions: The significantly higher membranous IR intensity for MMP-14 and CD 147 demonstrates the role of these biomarkers in the development of periodontal pathology in diabetes patients. It can be assumed that MMP-14 and CD147 could be further investigated as potential predictive biomarkers.
