Journal of Periodontology; Copyright 2017 DOI: 10.1902/jop.2017.170287 1 Salivary and Serum Markers Related to Innate Immunity in Generalized Aggressive Periodontitis Ronaldo Lira-Junior* † , Veli Özgen Öztürk ‡ , Gulnur Emingil § , Nagihan Bostanci*, Elisabeth Almer Boström* *Department of Dental Medicine, Division of Periodontology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. † Faculty of Odontology, Department of Periodontology, Rio de Janeiro State University, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. ‡ School of Dentistry, Department of Periodontology, Adnan Menderes University, Aydın, Turkey. § School of Dentistry, Department of Periodontology, Ege University, Izmir, Turkey. Background: Host inflammatory and immune responses play an important role in aggressive periodontitis (AgP). Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the levels of the innate immunity-related markers calprotectin, colony-stimulating factor (CSF)-1, macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF), monokine induced by interferon-γ (MIG), and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-8 in serum and saliva from patients having generalized AgP and those having gingivitis or a healthy periodontium. Methods: This study enrolled 40 individuals (23 females; mean age 33.30±9.31), 15 having generalized AgP, 15 with gingivitis and 10 periodontally healthy. Full-mouth periodontal examination was performed, and serum and saliva were collected. Levels of calprotectin, CSF-1, MIF, MIG, and MMP-8 were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). Results: In serum, mean levels of calprotectin were 2.06-fold higher in AgP patients than in healthy patients (p=0.011). Serum levels of MMP-8 were significantly elevated in AgP patients as compared to both healthy and gingivitis patients, by 2.60-fold and 2.77-fold respectively (p=0.032 and p=0.009, respectively). In saliva, levels of MMP-8 were 5.66-fold higher in AgP than in healthy patients (p=0.019). CSF-1, MIF and MIG levels in both serum and saliva did not differ significantly among the groups. Conclusion: Serum levels of calprotectin and MMP-8 are elevated in patients having AgP. MMP-8 levels are also increased in saliva from AgP patients. These results support the involvement of innate immune response in the pathogenesis of AgP. KEYWORDS: aggressive periodontitis, saliva, cytokines, inflammation and innate immunity. Aggressive periodontitis (AgP) is characterized by severe, rapidly progressing tissue breakdown, early age onset, initial involvement of molars and incisors, and family aggregation 1, 2 . The prevalence of AgP varies according to geographic locations and ethnicities, and ranges from 0.1% in Caucasians in north and mid-Europe to 5% in Africa 3 . Although its pathogenesis remains partially elusive, host inflammatory and immune responses play an important role in disease initiation and progression, wherein individuals having AgP are characterized by a hyper-responsive inflammatory phenotype 4 . Increased levels of inflammatory mediators have been measured in gingival crevicular fluid, saliva, and serum from AgP patients 5-7 . Therefore, the investigation of inflammatory biomarkers in AgP might provide insights into the nature of immune response associated to the disease, as well as assist in early disease diagnosis. For that purpose, saliva emerges as a simple, noninvasive, and inexpensive body fluid to collect, with the potential to diagnose and monitor disease states.