RESUMO
Background : Human telomerase is a multi subunit ribonucleoprotein enzyme concerned with telomeric lengthening and homeostasis in man. This enzyme has been found to be elevated in inflammatory conditions like rheumatoid arthritis and silica injury lung. Since chronic periodontitis is also an inflammatory condition where immune cells and cytokines mediate tissue destruction, we set out to evaluate telomerase in gingival tissue samples from healthy subjects and chronic periodontitis patients by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. Materials and Methods : Gingival biopsies were obtained from eight healthy subjects and eight chronic periodontitis patients. Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RTPCR) was carried out to evaluate telomerase gene expression in the samples. Results : None of the healthy gingival tissue samples expressed the telomerase gene while all the chronic periodontitis samples expressed it. The severe chronic periodontitis samples expressed the gene more intensely than the moderate chronic periodontitis samples. Conclusion : Various mechanisms have been explained to account for telomerase elevation in chronic periodontitis .This study helps us understand the role of telomerase in the pathogenesis of periodontal disease. It could be concluded that telomerase could be used as a marker to assess the severity of inflammation in chronic periodontitis.