Estudo da expressão dos genes TLR na doença periodontal

Abstract

Introduction: Periodontitis is one of the most prevalent oral diseases affecting the majority of the world's population. Severe periodontitis, in particular, can lead to disability due to impaired masticatory and esthetic function or edentulism. Thus, intervention strategies targeting Toll-like receptors (TLR) signaling and regulatory T/B cells of the immune system may be a promising approach to rebalance the immune response and alleviate bone loss in periodontal disease. Objective: To evaluate changes in the expression of TLR genes in the saliva of patients and validate the use of these molecules as biomarkers in the prognosis and management of clinical cases of periodontal disease. Material and methods: The sociodemographic and clinical characterization of a group of patients with periodontal disease was carried out, as well as the collection of saliva and biofilm samples for subsequent molecular analysis. Patients were selected according to the degree/stage of periodontal disease, and TLR expression was assessed by RT-PCR. Results: The study population consisted of 21 patients, among whom 52% were women and 48% men, with prevalence in the 62-77 age group. In terms of diagnosis, patients with Periodontitis, II, B prevailed. Alterations in the expression of the TLR2 gene were identified in the saliva of a representative group of samples. Semi-quantitative analysis showed that the relative expression of TLR2 increases with the progression of periodontitis, although the small number of samples does not allow definitive conclusions to be drawn. Conclusion: It is suggested that this study be continued with a higher number of samples, as well as the identification of new molecular markers that can help in the early diagnosis and treatment plan or monitoring of periodontal disease.

Date of Award	18 Jul 2024
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Raquel Silva (Supervisor), Karina Mendes (Co-Supervisor) & Tiago Marques (Co-Supervisor)