HCMV Antibody Titer in Gingival Crevicular Fluid in Chronic Periodontitis

Despite available evidence for the role of herpes viruses in destructive periodontal diseases, no cause-and-effect relationship has been found to date. This study compared the titer of immunoglobulin G (IgG), immunoglobulin M (IgM) against human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) in gingival crevicular fluid between individuals with periodontitis and with healthy periodontium. Thirty samples of gingival crevicular fluid (ten from infected sites and ten from non-infected sites from ten individuals with periodontitis and ten fromten individuals with healthy periodontium) were provided. The titer of IgG and IgM were evaluated. Data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA, Kruskal-Wallis test, t-test, Duncen's test and Pearson's correlation coefficient. There were no statistically significant differences in the means of IgM titers of the three groups under study, but there were significant differences in IgG titers between the three groups. Within the limits of the present study, it can be concluded that IgG titers against the human cytomegalovirus can increase in patients with periodontal diseases but the IgM titers do not show a significant increase in these individuals.