Background: Human leukocyte antigens (HLAs) are a basic precondition to induce the immune response to pathogens. Therefore, this study evaluates associations among periodontitis, five key periodontopathic bacteria, and HLAs to test their impact together with additional risk factors in multivariate analyses.

 Methods: Eighty-five patients with generalized aggressive periodontitis (GAgP) and 71 patients with generalized chronic periodontitis (CP) were compared to 88 periodontitis-free controls. HLA Class I and II typing was performed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with sequence-specific primers. Subgingival plaque specimens were detected by PCR with sequence-specific oligonucleotides. Risk-factor analyses were performed with respect to the cofactors age, sex, smoking, and plaque level by logistic regression.

 Results: In the total patient group (GAgP + CP), the adjusted odds ratio (OR) of periodontitis was decreased in cases who were carriers of HLA-B*57 (OR = 0.259, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.086 to 0.782), HLA-DQB1*08 (OR = 0.404, 95% CI = 0.187 to 0.871), or the combination HLA-DRB1*04DRB4*DQB1*0302 (OR = 0.407, 95% CI = 0.185 to 0.895). Moreover, individuals who expressed HLA-DRB1*04 (OR = 0.36, 95% CI = 0.148 to 0.886) or HLA-DRB1*04DRB4*DQB1*0302 (OR = 0.29, 95% CI = 0.092 to 0.884) had a decreased colonization risk with Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans.

 Conclusions: Certain HLA markers were negatively associated to the manifestation of a generalized periodontitis and/or the individual colonization of A. actinomycetemcomitans. The underlying mechanisms have to be investigated in future studies.

 Source: Journal of Periodentology

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