Effects of Cigarette Smoking on Host Defense Peptides in Saliva of Patients with Periodontitis

Background: Smoking cigarettes is linked to a number of diseases (systemic and oral), and affect both innate and adaptive immunity. Host defense peptides, often known as antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), are a component of the innate immune system and regarded as a group of chemically active oligopeptides that are poisonous to harmful microbes.
Aims: The goal of this research was to shed light on the effect of cigarette smoking on the production of host defense peptides in periodontitis patients.
Methods and Materials: Eighty-five participants were included in this study.  Periodontal health assessed by: PLI, GI, BOP, PPD and CAL. Saliva samples were collected from all subjects. ELISA was carried out to estimate the levels of beta defensin and cathelicidin. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 24. The ANOVA parametric test was used to determine and detect the differences between independent study groups, and the Tukey honestly significant difference (HSD)/post hoc test was performed to determine if there is any statistical connection between two data sets (intergroup comparison).
Results: The study findings showed both smokers and non smokers with periodontitis had considerably greater levels of beta defensin and cathelicidin than healthy controls. There was statistically significant reduction in beta defensin between smokers and non smokers (p<0.001); whereas no significant differences found between smokers and non smokers regarding cathelicidin level. 
Conclusions: These findings suggested that, in the context of periodontal diseases, smoking can affect the protein levels of beta defensin but not the levels of cathelicidin