Comparative immunohistochemical study of the distribution of fibronectin in healthy and diseased root surfaces.

BACKGROUND

Periodontal disease is an inflammatory process which may result in damage to and/or loss of tooth-supporting tissues, including bone, cementum, and periodontal ligament. Significant evidence supports a strong correlation between periodontitis and diseased or altered cementum. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence and distribution of fibronectin in normal human cementum and to determine whether its distribution is altered in periodontitis.

METHODS

Five healthy and 10 periodontally affected teeth were collected. Following fixation and demineralization, specimens were embedded in paraffin, sectioned, and exposed to antibodies against fibronectin. Stained sections were assessed using light microscopy.

RESULTS

The distribution of fibronectin, in the form of fibrils, in normal cementum was uniform in the whole cementum mass. In recession cementum, fibronectin appeared to lose its fibrillar morphology or to be completely amorphous on the whole cementum mass. Fibronectin showed variation in its distribution and fibrillar structure in pocket cementum; its absence from the cementum surface is characteristic. In the cementum apical to the pocket, fibronectin showed normal fibril structures, similar to normal cementum.

CONCLUSIONS

Changes in cementum due to periodontitis include changes in the distribution and morphology of fibronectin. These changes may influence the ability for regeneration and connective tissue attachment onto periodontally affected root surfaces.