CD133 EXPRESSION COULD BE A PREDICTIVE MARKER OF PERIODONTAL REGENERATION.

Periodontal regeneration needs formation of new connective tissue at the root surface, involving periodontal fibre development and angiogenesis. CD133 or prominin-1, is an important regulator of apoptosis, proliferation and angiogenesis. CD133 positive cells seem to be influenced in number and distribution by periodontal inflammatory changes. Studies showed different clinical and radiographic outcomes achieved with the used of Demineralized Freeze-Dried Bone Allografts (DFDBA) for periodontal intrabony defects treatment. Our aim was to investigate the relationship between CD133 expression in gingival biopsies before periodontal treatment and periodontal tissue response in the same site at 12 months post-surgery. We selected fifty-six patients with at least one intrabony defect with clinical attachment level (CAL)≥6 mm and needing periodontal regeneration. A gingival biopsy for each patient was obtained for CD133 immunostaining. Clinical and radiographical parameters were taken at baseline and 12 months post-surgery. We found a positive correlation between gingival CD133 expression and CAL gain achieved by use of DFDBA and measured 12 months post-surgery. Our results suggest that gingival CD133 expression could be a predictive marker of favourable periodontal healing. The CAL gain after periodontal regeneration seems to be related with a native gingival regenerative capacity.