ISSN:
1600-0765
Source:
Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
Topics:
Medicine
Notes:
The in vitro lymphocyte blastogenic responses of renal allograft recipients treated with immunosuppressive agents were compared with those of systemically healthy subjects with varying degrees of periodontal disease. The healthy subjects were divided into three groups; Group I showed no bleeding gingival units on gentle probing, Group II comprised persons with gingivitis, while Group III consisted of those with periodontitis. The target group (IS) comprised 11 renal allograft recipients maintained on an azathioprine and corticosteroid regimen. Two other such patients (Group CY) treated with cyclophosphamide and corticosteroids were also evaluated. Total and differential peripheral blood leukocyte counts from the IS group gave mean values within normal ranges. The mononuclear cells from peripheral blood were cultured for five days in a medium supplemented with foetal bovine serum. Triplicate cultures were stimulated with phytohemagglutinin and pokeweed mitogen. The responses of the IS patients and the systemically healthy subjects were not significantly different, whereas cells from the patients treated with cyclophosphamide showed impaired proliferative activity. When cultures were stimulated with a sonicate of dental plaque (DP), cells from the Groups II and III showed a statistically significant higher 3H-thymidine uptake than did those from the Groups I and IS (p〈0.05). The difference between the latter two groups was not statistically significant. The weak blastogenic responses of IS cells to DP antigens may be part of the explanation for the mild gingivitis observed in these patients.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0765.1983.tb00367.x
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