Point-of-Care Biomarker Monitoring of Treatment Efficacy: Changes in Mouthrinse Active Matrix Metalloproteinase-8 (aMMP-8) Concentrations Following Periodontal Anti-Infective Treatment.

Introduction: The active matrix metalloproteinase-8 (aMMP-8) is a functional biomarker of active periodontal tissue destruction. It bridges the gap between clinical findings and underlying biological processes, providing information on active collagen degradation that conventional clinical examinations do not capture. Methods: In a prospective within-subject clinical study, we assessed point-of-care (PoC) mouthrinse aMMP-8 concentrations, periodontal probing depth (PPD), and clinical attachment level (CAL) in 27 adults with stage III/IV (grade C) periodontitis before and 1 month after anti-infective treatment. aMMP-8 PoC results were validated by laboratory western blotting using an independent polyclonal MMP-8 antibody. Results: At baseline, 85.2% of samples showed elevated aMMP-8 PoC concentrations, declining to 18.5% post-treatment. Baseline aMMP-8 was significantly associated with disease severity, correlating with both PPD ( Conclusion: These findings demonstrate that aMMP-8 PoC monitoring aligns with both baseline disease severity and short-term periodontal healing. aMMP-8 provides an objective biochemical dimension to periodontal assessment, capturing active collagen degradation and serving as a sensitive and clinically meaningful indicator of treatment response.