Sex-based Dysregulation of Inflammation-related Genes in Periodontitis

Periodontitis is a chronic inflammatory condition affecting a large population all over the world. This condition is linked with abnormal expression of numerous genes. We measured levels of CYFIP1, KDR, RABGGTA, RABGGTB and FOXD2 in gingival tissue and circulation of people with periodontitis and healthy controls. KDR was more expressed in tissue samples of female patients compared with female controls (Ratio of mean expression (RME) =4.16, P=0.02). However, this gene was less expressed in the blood of female patients compared with female control subjects (RME=0.12, P=0.04). RABGGTB was less expressed in the blood of male patients compared with male controls (RME=0.20, P=0.02). Finally, FOXD2 was less expressed in total blood samples compared with total controls (RME=0.3, P<0.001) and in blood samples of female patients compared with female control subjects (RME=0.02, P<0.001). RABGGTA had the best area under curve (AUC) value in differentiation of patients' tissues from normal tissues (AUC=0.60, sensitivity=0.37, specificity=0.92). In distinction of abnormal blood samples from controls, FOXD2 had the best performance (AUC=0.85, sensitivity=0.66, specificity=0.91). In brief, we demonstrated a sex-dependent dysregulation of KDR, RABGGTB and FOXD2 genes in circulation or tissue of patients with periodontitis.