Lymphocyte subpopulations and the expression of intercellular adhesion molecules in chronic periodontitis.

Immunological responses to invading bacteria play a major role in the course of inflammatory periodontal diseases, such as CP. It was suggested that one of the major elements in determining the course of the disease is the expression of cellular adhesion molecules. We therefore investigated the expression of cellular adhesion molecules, ICAM-1 and beta-1 integrins, capillary density and lymphocyte subpopulations in gingival biopsies obtained from 20 patients with CP who responded and 21 patient who failed to respond to initial treatment using immunohistochemical methods.