Altered expression of MZB1 in periodontitis: A possible link to disease pathogenesis.

BACKGROUND: Our previous study explored the molecular signatures of generalized aggressive periodontitis (GAgP) using gingival tissues through omics-based-whole-genome transcriptomic analysis. This continuation study aimed to investigate the whole protein profiling of these gingival samples through liquid chromatography-mass spectroscopy/mass spectroscopy (LC-MS/MS) analysis and to validate the identified proteins through immunohistochemistry to provide further evidence for the quality of the results.

METHODS: In previous study, gene expression patterns were identified in gingival tissues from 23 GAgP and 25 control individuals. In the current study, comparative proteomic analysis was performed on isolated proteins from the same study groups using LC-MS/MS analysis. The data from the transcriptomics study published before and the proteomics data were integrated to reveal any common genes and proteins. Additionally, immunohistochemical analysis was conducted to further investigate the findings.

RESULTS: The most upregulated proteins in patients compared to controls were ITGAM, AZU1, MMP9, BPI, UGGG1, MZB1, TRFL, PDIA6, PRDX4, and PLG. The top six pathways associated with these proteins were involved in innate immune system, post-translational protein phosphorylation, interleukin-4 and -13 signaling, toll-like receptors cascades, and extracellular matrix organization. Based on the integration and validation analysis of transcriptomics and proteomics data, as well as immunohistochemical analysis, MZB1 was identified as a shared gene and protein that were upregulated in the patients.

CONCLUSIONS: MZB1 is a protein that is involved in the development of B cells and the production of antibodies. Its upregulation in periodontitis suggests that there may be a dysregulation of the immune response in this condition, and MZB1 may be a potent biomarker for periodontitis.