Proteases in Periodontal Disease

Introduction: The caries and the periodontal disease (PD) are the most frequent alterations in the oral cavity. The PD presents two stages: gengivitis and periodontitis. The destruction of collagenous fibers which encases the tooth onto the alveolar bone is characteristic of the pariodontitis. The inclusion loss caused by this pathology is due to the presence of bacteria and their products, besides the tissue destruction. This process is caused by excessive discharge of cells of the organism defence which reach the damaged area, and among these cells are neutrophils. These cells free lysosomal granule, where enzymes known as proteases (elastase, colagenasis and catepsin G) are present. When excessively delivered, they cause extensive tissue destruction. The organism innate defence respond to this process activating anti-proteases, such as alfa-1-antitripsin e alfa-2-macrogoblulin, and, as consequence, the inflammatory process is subdued. Objective: Revision of the literature on periodontitis and its markers. In periodontitis, the balance between protease and anti-protese seems to be altered and lead to the appearance of these ones. There is an increase of prevalence of PD in the world population. In recent times, it has been associated to systemic conditions that lead to tissue destruction. Perhaps, the cause is based on an exacerbated tissue reaction, more than on the bacterial aggression. Conclusion: The predisposition of the organism is an important factor for the disease development. At reading different studies, it was observed that the discharged protease during the neutrophils degranulation process has internal, not bacterial, origin.