A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY ON OSTEOCALCIN LEVELS IN GINGIVAL CREVICULAR FLUID FROM PERIODONTAL PATIENTS

THE PURPOSE OF THE PRESENT STUDY was to determine the levels of osteoc alcin, a bone specific matrix protein, in gingival crevicular fluid (G CF) from periodontal disease patients and to investigate the relations hip between GCF osteocalcin levels and clinical parameters. Nineteen i nitial visit patients, 5 patients with gingivitis and 14 patients with adult periodontitis, participated in this study. The clinical paramet ers including probing depth, attachment level, gingival index, and too th mobility were recorded following careful sampling of GCF with a fil ter paper strip harvested for 3 minutes. Osteocalcin adsorbed on a str ip was extracted in a plastic tube containing 150mul of 10 mM sodium p hosphate buffer (pH 6.5). GCF osteocalcin was determined by a newly-de veloped, high sensitive enzyme immunoassay which could recognize the N -terminal 20 residue peptide. In gingivitis patients, no significant a mounts of osteocalcin were detected. In periodontitis patients, on the other hand, osteocalcin levels were detected, ranging between 0 and 5 40 pg/tube and positively correlated with these clinical parameters (P <0.01). Moreover, in several sites in GI = 3 group, extremely higher levels of GCF osteocalcin were detected. These results strongly sugges t that in addition to the presence of GCF osteocalcin the levels of os teocalcin may reflect the degree of the periodontal inflammation at th e sampled sites.