Prognostic Potentials of E-cadherin and Total Antioxidant Capacity in Gingival Crevicular Fluid of Moderately Deep Periodontal Pockets Treated With Nonsurgical Periodontal Therapy

Loss of attachment and formation of periodontal pockets are hallmarks of periodontitis. The treatment approach is either by nonsurgical or surgical periodontal therapy or a combination of both depending on the severity of the case. In general, sites with moderately deep pockets (4 to 6 mm) are responding favorably to nonsurgical periodontal therapy (NSPT). Nevertheless, some sites exhibit persistent pockets even with multiple treatment sessions which could be attributed to the presence of tissue invaders or aberrant immune response that impede healing process.

Prediction of treatment outcomes based on clinical data is limited and sometimes lacking accuracy. Use of biomarkers that can be non-invasively collected from oral fluids e.g., gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) as diagnostic/predictive tools has gained attention in the last decade. For instance, E-Cadherin (E-cad) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) are associated with periodontitis. E-cad is a transmembrane glycoprotein that is a key mediator of stable cell-cell adhesion of epithelial cells. E-cadherin-based adherens junctions specialized cell structures that mediate cell-cell adhesion and regulate cytoskeleton reorganization forming a continuous, linear circumferential belt (zonula adherens) around the apical part of the cell. While TAC, defined as the moles of oxidants neutralized by one liter of solution, is a biomarker measuring the antioxidant potential of body fluids.

Available evidence indicates that the concentration of both molecules are substantially increased with increasing severity of periodontitis and vice versa in periodontal health. This suggests the potential of GCF-E-cad and TAC to predict the prognosis following NSPT.