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Caspase activation is involved in chronic periodontitis
Author(s) -
Bantel Heike,
Beikler Thomas,
Flemmig Thomas F.,
Schulze-Osthoff Klaus
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
febs letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.593
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1873-3468
pISSN - 0014-5793
DOI - 10.1016/j.febslet.2005.09.020
Subject(s) - proteases , periodontitis , caspase , apoptosis , aggressive periodontitis , cytotoxic t cell , caspase 1 , intracellular , caspase 2 , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , fas receptor , chemistry , programmed cell death , in vitro , immunology , medicine , enzyme , biochemistry , dentistry
Periodontitis, a common infectious disease, is initiated by various gram‐negative bacteria and characterized by the destruction of the periodontal tissue. Here, we investigated the role of caspases, intracellular proteases that are the key mediators of apoptosis. We show that activation of caspase‐3 and caspase‐7 is considerably enhanced in gingival tissue from patients with periodontitis. We also demonstrate in in vitro experiments that various periodontopathic bacteria exert a direct growth‐suppressing effect and, moreover, can trigger a host‐mediated cytotoxic activity involving the CD95 death receptor. Our data suggest that caspase activation is a prominent feature in periodontitis‐associated tissue injury.