Identification of MRP-8 (calgranulin A) as a major responsive protein in chronic periodontitis

The purpose of the study was to analyse how the protein composition of the inflammatory exudate associated with chronic periodontitis differed from th e exudate in periodontal health. Gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) was collec ted from sites with chronic periodontal inflammation and from non-diseased sites in healthy control subjects. Microbore HPLC analysis revealed one maj or difference in GCF protein profiles between healthy controls and periodon titis patients. The protein enhanced in periodontitis patients was identifi ed as migration inhibitory factor-related protein-8 (MRP-8) by a combinatio n of N-terminal amino acid sequencing, mass spectrometry, and SDS-PAGE. Tog ether, these data demonstrate, for the first time, the presence of monomeri c MRP-8 in an inflammatory exudate. Whether monomeric MRP-8 is a unique fea ture of chronic periodontal inflammation is not yet clear, but the chemotac tic properties of this peptide support a functional role for MRP-8 in perio dontal inflammation. Copyright (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.