Critical Reviews in Oral Biology & Medicine, Vol 9, 292-305, Copyright © 1998 by International & American Associations for Dental Research
Interactions between non-immune host cells and the immune system during periodontal disease: role of the gingival keratinocyte
G. Suchett-Kaye, J. J. Morrier and O. Barsotti
Laboratoire d'Etude des Interfaces en Odontologie, Universite Claude Bernard, UFR d'Odontologie, Lyon, France.
Periodontal disease and inflammatory dermatoses, such as psoriasis, are
characterized by the accumulation of dense inflammatory infiltrates
immediately beneath the epithelial cell layer of the gingiva and skin,
respectively. Dermatologists are increasingly aware that the epidermal
keratinocyte probably contributes to inflammatory disease progression by
secreting a number of pro-inflammatory cytokines and expressing various
adhesion molecules. In psoriatic lesions, it is now believed that epidermal
keratinocytes may also act as antigen-presenting cells and participate
directly in the superantigenic activation of T-cell clones, some of which
may initiate, contribute to, or maintain the disease process. Although the
role of the host response in periodontal disease has been extensively
studied over the years, very little is known about the contribution of the
gingival keratinocyte to the inflammatory response. The available published
information is discussed in this review, and we suggest that, like its
epidermal counterpart, the gingival keratinocyte may participate actively
in the pathogenesis of periodontal disease.
