Active MMP-8 Quantitative Test as an Adjunctive Tool for Early Diagnosis of Periodontitis

• Main Authors: Marcela Hernández, Mauricio Baeza, Ismo T. Räisänen, Johanna Contreras, Taina Tervahartiala, Alejandra Chaparro, Timo Sorsa, Patricia Hernández-Ríos
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-08-01
• Series: Diagnostics
• Subjects: periodontitis; periodontal disease; matrix metalloproteinase-8; gingival crevicular fluid; biomarkers; diagnosis
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4418/11/8/1503

Periodontitis is a host-mediated bacterial disease that affects the tooth attachment apparatus. Metalloproteinase-8 (MMP-8), a validated biomarker, could aid in clinical diagnosis. This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of active (a) MMP-8 immunotest versus total (t) MMP-8 ELISA for quantitative real-time diagnosis and assessment of periodontitis severity at the site level. Gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) was sampled from 30 healthy, 42 mild, and 59 severe periodontitis sites from thirty-one volunteers. MMP-8 concentrations were determined by time-resolved immunofluorometric assay (IFMA) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Statistical analysis was performed using the STATA package. Both active and total MMP-8-based methods discriminated among sites according to periodontal diagnosis and severity, with a positive correlation between the two tests (<i>p</i> < 0.001). (a) MMP-8 models showed the best performance in receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves to discriminate between healthy and periodontitis sites (area under the curve [AUC] = 0.89), while (t) MMP-8 demonstrated a high diagnostic precision in the detection of mild from severe periodontitis sites (AUC ≥ 0.80). The use of (a) MMP-8 and (t) MMP-8 could represent a useful adjunctive tool for periodontitis diagnosis and severity. These results support the applicability of new point-of-care methods in the monitoring of high-risk periodontal patients.