Objective. The purpose of this study was to investigate the presence of an antimicrobial peptide, human defensin-l, in the saliva of patients with oral inflammation.
Study design. Whole saliva samples were collected from, patients with oral inflammation and from healthy volunteers. Human defensin-1 in saliva was isolated and purified by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. The amino acid sequence and molecular weight of defensin-1 were determined. The concentration of defensin-1 in saliva was quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography. Serum C-reactive protein concentration was measured by particle-enhanced turbidimetric immunoassay.
Results. The salivary defensin-l concentration was significantly higher in patients with oral inflammation than in healthy volunteers; furthermore, in patients with oral inflammation, the concentration was significantly higher before treatment than after treatment. In the patients With Oral inflammation, there was a strong positive correlation between salivary defensin-l concentration and serum C-reactive protein concentration.
Conclusions. The findings suggest that defensin-l in saliva may be a convenient marker of inflammation associated with oral disease.