Metallothioneins in Dental Implant Treatment Failure and Periodontitis in Patients with Down’s Syndrome: Validation of Results

Metallothioneins (MTs) are low molecular weight cysteine-rich proteins that can bind up to seven zinc ions. Among their numerous functions, MTs appear to act as protectors against oxidative and inflammatory injury. In our first published study, we reported downregulation of the isoforms <i>MT1...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: María Baus-Domínguez, Raquel Gómez-Díaz, José-Luis Gutiérrez-Pérez, Daniel Torres-Lagares, Guillermo Machuca-Portillo, María-Ángeles Serrera-Figallo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-06-01
Series:Genes
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4425/13/6/1028
Description
Summary:Metallothioneins (MTs) are low molecular weight cysteine-rich proteins that can bind up to seven zinc ions. Among their numerous functions, MTs appear to act as protectors against oxidative and inflammatory injury. In our first published study, we reported downregulation of the isoforms <i>MT1B</i> (fold distance (FD) −2. 95; <i>p</i> = 0.0024), <i>MT1F</i> (FD −1.72; <i>p</i> = 0.0276), <i>MT1X</i> (FD −3.09; <i>p</i> = 0.0021), <i>MT1H</i> (FD −2.39; <i>p</i> = 0.0018), <i>MT1M</i> (FD −2.37; <i>p</i> = 0.0092), <i>MT1L</i> (FD −2. 55; <i>p</i> = 0.0048), <i>MT1E</i> (FD −2.71; <i>p</i> = 0.0014), <i>MT2A</i> (FD −2.35; <i>p</i> = 0.0072), <i>MT1G</i> (FD −2.24; <i>p</i> = 0.0118), and <i>MT1A</i> (FD −2.82; <i>p</i> = 0.0023) by comparing Down’s syndrome patients with periodontal disease and implant failure to those without periodontal disease and with a positive progression of their implants. In this gene validation study, we intended to verify the results of our first gene expression analysis. Materials and Methods: In our retrospective case–control study, we performed retrotranscription (RT-qPCR) of 11 RNA-to-cDNA samples using the SuperScript™ VILO™ kit (50; reference 1,176,605) from Thermo Fisher. We conducted the study using the real-time PCR technique on the q-PCR ViiA 7 platform from Thermo Fisher. We chose the format of the Taqman Array Plate 16 Plus (reference 4,413,261) from Thermo Fisher, which accommodates 12 genes plus four controls (<i>GAPDH, 18S, ACTB,</i> and <i>HPRT1</i>). We conducted the analysis of the plates using the Thermo Fisher Cloud Web Software. Results: The results obtained through gene validation analysis show that in PD+RI+ patients, the genes encoding the isoforms <i>MT1F</i> (FD 0.3; <i>p</i> = 0.039), <i>MT1X</i> (FD 338; <i>p</i> = 0.0078), <i>MT1E</i> (FD 307; <i>p</i> = 0.0358), and <i>MT2A</i> (FD 252; <i>p</i> = 0.0428) continue to show downregulation, whereas <i>MT1B</i> (FD 2.75; <i>p</i> = 0.580), <i>MT1H</i> (FD 281; <i>p</i> = 0.152), <i>MT1L</i> (FD 354; <i>p</i> = 0.0965), and <i>MT1G</i> (FD 336; <i>p</i> = 0.0749) no longer show statistically significant results.
ISSN:2073-4425