Comparison of immunoexpression of dendritic cells, mast cells and blood vessels in periodontal disease between adults and elderly

Objective The aim of this study was to compare, in adults and elderly individuals, the immunoexpression of immature and mature dendritic cells (DCs), mast cells, and blood vessels in healthy and diseased gingival tissues. Materials and methods The expressions of immunohistochemical markers, including CD1a (immature dendritic cells), CD83 (mature dendritic cells), tryptase (mast cells) and CD34 (blood vessels), were analyzed in gingival biopsies from elderly ( n = 27) and adult ( n = 127) patients presenting health, gingivitis and periodontitis. Positive cells for each specimen and marker were counted. Results There were no differences in the immunostaining of DCs, mast cells and the amount of blood vessels among gingival biopsies with health, gingivitis and periodontitis in adult and elderly subjects ( p > 0.05). Immature DCs were more frequent in tissues with gingivitis and periodontitis in elderly patients, when compared to adults ( p < 0.05). Furthermore, degranulated mast cell counts were higher, whereas the number of microvessels was lower in gingivitis in the elderly, when compared to adults ( p < 0.05). Conclusions Diseased periodontal sites in the elderly present an overall significant overexpression of immature DCs and degranulated mast cells, in relation to those of adults. Furthermore, gingivitis in elderly is associated with decreased microvessel growth. These immunoinflammatory differences between elderly and adults may have implications in periodontal tissue breakdown in the late adulthood. Further studies should be performed to elucidate this hypothesis. Clinical relevance Understading the relationship between aging and changes in immune cells during periodontal inflammation may lead to therapeutic targets for the future management of periodontal diseases.