comparison of neutrophil apoptosis α-defensins and calprotectin in children with and without severe early childhood caries

background: the infectious nature of severe early-childhood caries (s-ecc) points to the possible participation of immunologic host responses including neutrophils and their antimicrobial products. objectives: the aim of this study was to determine the neutrophil apoptosis, α-defensins (hnp1-3) and calprotectin levels in the saliva of preschool children and the association with s-ecc. methods: oral examinations were performed on 87 children aged 3-5 years and non stimulated whole saliva samples were collected. thirty of these subjects were considered s-ecc children, 30 with moderate caries (mc) and 27 were caries free (cf). to detect apoptosis, cell staining was done with annexin-v-fluos and propidium iodide, and they were analyzed by fluorescent microscopy. the concentration of α-defensins and calprotectin were assessed using elisa. results: there were no statistical differences between groups considering the hnp1-3 or calprotectin salivary levels (p=0.06 and p=0.23, respectively). the hnp1-3 and calprotectin levels were negatively correlated and the correlation was significant in mc group (p=0.03). lower levels of apoptotic neutrophils were obtained from cf subjects as compared with s-ecc children (p=0.03). conclusions: our findings establish that apoptotic mechanisms could be implicated in the immunity responses associated with s-ecc. we cannot yet