COLLAGENASE ACTIVITY AND TISSUE INHIBITOR OF METALLOPROTEINASES-1 (TIMP-1) CONTENT IN HUMAN WHOLE SALIVA FROM CLINICALLY HEALTHY AND PERIODONTALLY DISEASED SUBJECTS

Total TIMP-1 concentration in whole saliva of periodontally diseased s ubjects, 137 +/- 67 ng/ml (mean +/- SD), was clearly lower (p < 0.001) than that of clinically healthy subjects, 273 +/- 145, and that of ed entulous subjects, 332 +/- 121. On the contrary, both active [1.58 +/- 0.35 units/ml (mean +/- SD)] and total (2.08 +/- 0.25) collagenase ac tivities in TIMP-1-free whole saliva of diseased subjects were signifi cantly higher than the activities (0.14 +/- 0.14 and 0.50 +/- 0.27, re spectively) in TIMP-1-free whole saliva of healthy subjects. Most of t he total collagenase in whole saliva of healthy subjects consisted of procollagenase, while mainly active collagenase was present in whole s aliva from patients with periodontal diseases. Significant reciprocal changes of TIMP-1 and collagenase levels, that is, increase in TIMP-1 concentration and decrease in collagenase activity, were observed afte r the initial therapy of periodontitis patients.