Evaluation of the periodontal disease activity measuring the ability of dental plaque to activate innate immune system

牙周病是由牙菌斑中的细菌引起的炎症性疾病。由于TLR2和TLR4在牙周组织中细菌产物的识别中起着核心作用，我们分析了牙菌斑刺激TLR2，4的能力。牙菌斑诱导TLR4介导的刺激的能力与采样部位的临床参数呈正相关。诱导TLR4介导的刺激的能力也与用斑块刺激的外周血单核细胞产生的细胞因子的水平相关。牙菌斑中的内毒素具有强效的促炎活性，测量其诱导TLR4介导的刺激的能力将有助于评价牙周病的活动性。

Periodontal diseases are the inflammatory diseases caused by the bacteria in dental plaque. Since TLR2 and TLR4 play a central role in the recognition of bacterial products in periodontal tissue, we analyzed the ability of dental plaque to stimulate TLR2, 4. The ability of dental plaque to induce TLR4-mediated stimulation was positively associated with the clinical parameters at the sampled sites. The ability to induce TLR4-mediated stimulation was also associated with the levels of the cytokines produced by the peripheral blood mononuclear cells stimulated with the plaque. Endotoxins in the dental plaque possessed potent pro-inflammatory activities and measurement of the ability to induce TLR4-mediated stimulation would be useful for the evaluation of periodontal disease activity.