Comparison of human polymorphonuclear neutrophil elastase, polymorphonuclear neutrophil cathepsin-G, and alpha 2-macroglobulin levels in healthy and inflamed dental pulps.

Polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs) are found in dental pulp secondary to carious exposures, periodontal disease, or trauma. Lysosomal degranulation of these cells liberates cellular proteases, including elastase (PMN-E) and cathepsin-G (PMN-CG), which produce connective tissue degradation. However, nonspecific pulpal tissue destruction can be modified by a naturally occurring serum protease inhibitor alpha 2-macroglobulin (A2-M). This study relates the concentrations of human PMN-E, PMN-CG, and A2-M in healthy and inflamed pulpal samples. Evaluation of 21 specimens yielded statistically significant differences between healthy and moderate to severely inflamed pulps for all groups (p < 0.05). No significant correlation was detected among human PMN-E, PMN-CG, and A2-M in the healthy tissues (P > 0.05). However, in the moderate to severely inflamed pulps, there was a significant correlation between PMN-CG and A2-M (p < 0.05).