The results of the present study showed that after adjusting the BMI and age, the parameters of periodontal inflammation (GI, PI and BOP) were higher in women with PCOS compared to healthy women (p = 0.001). Moreover, the salivary levels of MMP-9 were much higher in women with PCOS than in the control group. Even in those patients with PCOS who had a healthy gum the level of MMP-9 in saliva was higher compared to the control group. In accordance with the present study, Kellesarians et al. (2017) concluded in their review study that patients with PCOS had a higher prevalence of periodontal diseases which might be related to the role of chronic systemic inflammation in the pathophysiology of the two diseases (24). In the study of Dursun et al. (2011), the clinical periodontal parameters including probing depth (PD), plaque index (PI), gingival index (GI), bleeding on probing (BOP) and clinical attachment loss (CAL) were compared in 25 women with PCOS and 27 healthy women who were matched in terms of age and BMI. They stated that all of the evaluated periodontal parameters except the CAL were higher in patients with PCOS than in healthy participants in the control group. Moreover, the volume of the gingival crevicular fluid as well as the amount of nitric oxide (NO) and myeloperoxidase (MPO) in the gingival sulcus was higher among the patients with PCOS. Their findings suggested that the local/periodontal oxidant status in women with PCOS was damaged and their susceptibility for periodontal diseases increased considerably (26). Periodontal diseases are one of the most prevalent chronic inflammatory diseases (29). The relationship between periodontal and systemic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases (30), diabetes (31), stroke (32) and respiratory diseases (33) is quite acknowledged. The first time, the study of Kelly et al. in 2001 revealed the relationship between PCOS and chronic inflammatory diseases. In their study, after adjusting the effect of BMI, women with PCOS had higher concentrations of CRP, which is a marker for inflammation (34). Also, the study of Ozkaca et al. (2012), which compared three groups of women, reported that concentration of markers of inflammation such as interleukin-6 in saliva and serum of women with PCOS and gingivitis was higher than women with PCOS who had a healthy gum. Moreover, the concentration of TNF-α in serum was higher in the two groups of women with PCOS compared to the control group. It appears that PCOS and gingivitis have a synergistic effect on the increase in inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-6 and TNF-α. However, they emphasized that further studies were needed to clarify the possible link between PCOS and periodontal diseases (35). On the other hand, the study of Mohling et al. (2004) stated that PCOS is not related to the increase in markers of chronic inflammation. In this study, 57 women with PCOS and 20 healthy volunteers, who were the same age and had the same BMI as the case group, were compared in terms of markers of inflammation including IL-6 and CRP and parameters such as obesity, insulin resistance and hyperandrogenism. The results showed that plasma CRP and IL-6 were not higher in two groups of women with PCOS (fat and thin women) compared to the control group (36). However, the recent studies have reported that women with PCOS have had chronic mild inflammation and this factor has been considered to have a role in increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes (37–39).
Many studies showed that chronic infectious diseases are associated with elevated levels of reactive oxygen species, myeloperoxidase, oxidative stress, inflammatory cytokines (such as IL-6 and TNF-α), hypersensitive reactive proteins, adhesion molecules, and blood lymphocytes and monocytes (20–22). PCOS is also associated with low-grade systemic inflammation, which is followed by an increase in multiple inflammatory markers such as C-reactive protein, interleukin-18, monocyte chemo-attractant protein-1 (MCP-1/CCL2), and white blood cells, as well as endothelial dysfunction and increased oxidative stress (40). This cascade of pro-inflammatory events has been suggested as a possible link between periodontal disease and PCOS, a process that may play a role in the etiology and pathogenesis of PCOS (20–22). However, studies are not in consistency with each other in this regard. In the study of Ekali (2017), there was no relationship between PCOS and markers of inflammation like CRP and IL-6 (25). For this reason, in a review study the researchers concluded that the number of curent studies on low-grade inflammatory biomarkers in patients with PCOS are limited and existing studies are heterogeneous. Therefore, they recommended further studies on inflammatory biomarkers in women with PCOS (40).
In the present study, the level of salivary MMP-9 in patients with PCOS was significantly higher than in the control group. The other finding of this study was that the level of salivary MMP-9 in patients with PCOS who had a healthy gum was higher than in the control group. Some researchers believe that MMPs might have a role in the pathogenesis of PCOS and the possible mechanism proposed is that the rate of growth and regeneration of ovarian follicles is modified by the balance between MMPs in the extracellular environment (41). The study of Ranjbaran et al. in 2016 was the first one on the involvement of the activity of MMP-9 in pathogenesis of PCOS. They showed that the serum level of MMP-9 was significantly higher in women with PCOS compared to the control group (42). The study of Dambala et al. in 2017 also showed the same result (43). In the study of Javed et al. (2913), the level of MMP-8 was higher in the saliva and serum of patients with PCOS and periodontal disease compared to the control group (comprised of women who were systemically healthy and had healthy gums) (16). However, the results of studies are contradictory (44–46).
MMPs are a family of proteolytic enzymes, which destroy the extracellular matrix and the basement membrane. That is the reason why they are important in physiological and pathological processes. MMP-9 is a 92-kilodalton protein with protease activity whose main substrate is extracellular matrix and basement membrane tissue connections. It is the only member of the family that is able to attach and digest collagen as the most important composition of the basement membrane due to its 3-fibronectin structure (47). MMPs are found in a variety of environments. So far, more than 26 types of these enzymes have been identified in humans that are structurally very similar. They have a very important role in migration of lymphoid and myeloid cells, physiological rearrangement of tissues including organogenesis, normal growth, embryonic growth, angiogenesis and ovulation (48). MMPs inhibit cancer cell apoptosis by various mechanisms including inhibition of NK-cell function (49). That is why increased plasma levels of MMP-9 have been observed in a variety of cancers such as gastric, breast, colon, lung, head and neck cancers (50).
Conclusion
Various studies have been conducted on the relationship between periodontal disease and polycystic ovary syndrome, most of which emphasize on the importance of the effect of periodontal diseases on polycystic ovary syndrome. However, there are conflicting results in these studies. The present study showed that the parameters of gingival inflammation (GI, PI, and BOP) were higher in women with PCOS compared to healthy women. To the best of our knowledge, there has been no other studies which compared the salivary level of MMP-9 in healthy women and women with PCOS and periodontal disease. As a result, for the first time the present study showed that the levels of salivary MMP-9 were much higher in patients with PCOS and periodontal disease than in healthy women in the control group. Another finding of this study was that in PCOS patients who did not have periodontal disease, levels of salivary MMP-9 were higher than the control group (healthy women). According to the results of this study, it is assumed that there might be a positive association between periodontal diseases and PCOS, and that salivary levels of MMP-9 are higher in women with PCOS, who have or do not have gingivitis, than in healthy women. However, it is recommended that a study be conducted with a larger number of samples and in a multi-center manner to demonstrate the existence of this relationship more clearly and strongly.
Limitations
it is a sure thing that all studies have limitations. One of the limitations of this study was the limited number of women with polycystic ovary syndrome and the lack of cooperation of a number of patients to participate in periodontal examination which led to their exclusion from the study. Moreover, transfer and storage of samples in appropriate conditions was one of the challenges of this study. However, due to the proximity of the sampling site to the sample storage center, these problems decreased.