Upregulated Vanins and their potential contribution to periodontitis

Background Although Vanins are closely related to neutrophil regulation and response to oxidative stress, and play essential roles in inflammatory diseases with clinical significance, their contribution to periodontitis remains to be determined. This research was designed to assess the expression of Vanins in human gingiva, and to define the relationship between Vanins and periodontitis. Methods Forty-eight patients with periodontitis and forty-two periodontal healthy individuals were enrolled for gingival tissue sample collection. Expression levels of VNN1 , VNN2 and VNN3 were evaluated by RT-qPCR and validated in datasets GSE10334 and GSE16134. Western blot and immunohistochemistry identified specific proteins within gingiva. The histopathological changes in gingival sections were investigated using HE staining. Correlations between Vanins and clinical parameters, PD and CAL; between Vanins and inflammation, IL1B ; and between Vanins and MPO in periodontitis were investigated by Spearman's correlation analysis respectively. Associations between VNN2 and indicators of neutrophil adherence and migration were further validated in two datasets. Results Vanins were at higher concentrations in diseased gingival tissues in both RT-qPCR and dataset analysis ( p < 0.01). Assessment using western blot and immunohistochemistry presented significant upregulations of VNN1 and VNN2 in periodontitis ( p < 0.05). The higher expression levels of Vanins, the larger the observed periodontal parameters PD and CAL ( p < 0.05), and IL1B ( p < 0.001). Moreover, positive correlations existed between VNN2 and MPO, and between VNN2 and neutrophil-related indicators. Conclusion Our study demonstrated upregulation of Vanins in periodontitis and the potential contribution of VNN2 to periodontitis through neutrophils-related pathological processes.