CREVICULAR FLUID AND SERUM IGG SUBCLASSES AND CORRESPONDING MESSENGER-RNA EXPRESSING PLASMA-CELLS IN PERIODONTITIS LESIONS

Recent reports suggest that specific serum IgG subclasses are a featur e of several forms of periodontitis. GCF antibodies are both serum-der ived and locally produced by the abundant plasma cells of the diseased periodontal tissue. Previous work has shown that crevicular fluid (GC F) levels of IG may be reduced in active and deep periodontal pockets when compared to other sites in chronic periodontitis patients (7). Th ese findings, and more recent findings for IgA levels in GCF (5), sugg est that GCF immunoglobulins may indicate ''high risk'' sites for peri odontitis. In these studies, the relative distribution of IgG isotypes was not investigated, nor was the relative contribution of local and serum antibodies to the GCF immunoglobulin profile. Therefore, more pr ecise investigation of the tissue distribution of local gingival IgG s ubclass producing plasma tells and their protein levels in the GCF fro m the same sites and in serum, was undertaken.