Smoking Influence on Apoptosis in Periodontitis

Apoptosis is an evolutionary form of physiological cell death. Studies suggest that apoptosis is involved in the pathogenesis of periodontal diseases. Human gingival fibroblasts (HGF) have an important role in the periodontal immune response. It is believed that HGF can be diminished and/or eliminated by means of apoptosis. Smoking is one of the most common risk factor of periodontal disease. Studies indicated that smoking can increase the risk of periodontitis by enhancing the apoptosis of gingival fibroblast. The purpose of this study is to determine and to investigate apoptosis of HGF in gingival biopsies collected from smokers and non smokers who are diagnosed with chronic periodontitis or aggressive periodontitis. Eighty subjects will be invited to participate in this study. Patients will be allocated into four groups (20 patients each). Gingival biopsies will be obtained from the base of papillae during surgical treatment (open flap curettage) and will be examined by Immuno-histochemical analysis. Immune-staining will be done using p53 monoclonal mouse anti-human antibody.