Gingival transcriptomics phases of periodontitis lesions in nonhuman primate model

We used a nonhuman primate (NHP) model of ligature-induced periodontitis to identify gingival transcriptome changes associated with aging during the phases of periodontitis lesions (initiation, progression, and resolution). Four age groups of nonhuman primate were studied: Young (<3 years of age); Adolescent (3 to 7 years), Adult (12 to 15 years), and Aged (17-23 years) Gingival tissues from healthy nonhuman primates were obtained at baseline (BL) before ligation, 2 weeks and 1 month (initiation), 3 months (progression) after placing ligatures, as well as two months after removing the ligatures (5M-resolution) for RNA extraction and hybridization on Affymetrix microarrays.