Role of diffuse neuroendocrine epithelial system in pathogenesis of combined periodontium lesions and Barrett’s esophagus

Introduction. The mechanisms behind inflammatory periodontium diseases against pathologies affecting esophagus are to do with a disturbed dynamic balance between aggression and factors and those of defense, which, primarily, is due to issues involving the neurohumoral regulation of the gastrointestinal tract. Aim of study. This study focused on investigating the indicators pertaining to the diffuse endocrine system of the gums and esophagus mucous membrane in patients suffering from chronic periodontitis and Barrett’s esophagus (BE). Material and methods. The pool of the patients examined through the study included: 40 patients with periodontitis against BE; 40 patients with periodontitis with no somatic pathology; 20 virtually healthy individuals. Immunohistochemical and morphometric methods were employed to carry out a comparative analysis of quantitative indicators of gingival and esophageal epithelial cells immune-positive to endothelin-1, melatonin, as well as NO-synthase, in patients with varying degrees of inflammatory periodontium diseases. Results. The obtained outcomes point at a decreased functional activity of melatonin-producing cells in the periodontal and esophageal epithelium, which leads to progressing destructive periodontium inflammation and disrupted recovery of the esophagus. Conclusion. Anamnesis analysis showed that the severity of chronic periodontitis has a correlation with the esophagus pathology duration. The most significant changes in the studied parameters were observed in cases of moderate and severe periodontitis. Statistically significant changes were to be seen in all the parameters studies: hyperplasia of cells immune-positive to endothelin-1 and NO-synthase against reduced melatonin levels, whereas severe chronic periodontitis featured total hypoplasia of melatonin immune-positive cells in epithelial cells of the gum and esophagus. Key words: diffuse endocrine system, periodontium diseases, Barrett’s esophagus, endothelin-1, melatonin, NO synthase Conflicts of interest. The author have no conflicts of interest to declare. Funding. There was no funding for this study.