Objectives: Neutrophil elastase (NE) is an important enzyme of tissue destruction in inflammatory diseases. The objective of the study was to evaluate the gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) neutrophil elastase activities from inflamed sites with shallow and deep pockets in patients with periodontitis before and 6 months after phase-I therapy. Methods: GCF samples from inflamed sites with shallow (SP) and deep (DP) pockets in 11 periodontitis patients were collected. All the sampled sites exhibited attachment loss. A total of 88 sites in 11 patients were clinically evaluated by gingival index (GI), plaque index (PI), probing depth (PD) and clinical attachment level (CAL). NE was determined in ELISA plates by measurement of p-nitroanilide resulting from hydrolysis of neutrophil elastase specific peptide, N-methoxysuccinyl-ala-ala-val-p-nitroanalide. Phase-I periodontal therapy was performed. Clinical periodontal parameters and NE levels were evaluated at baseline and each month after therapy. GCF enzyme levels were determined both as NE total amounts (µU) and enzyme concentration (µU/µL). The values for the sampling sites were averaged for each subject at each time period. For statistical analysis, log transformation was performed to normalize data. Intra-group differences were evaluated by Friedman and Bonferroni Adjusted Wilcoxon Sign Rank test. Univariant analysis was used for inter-group differences. Spearman rank correlation test was used to determine the correlations between NE and clinical parameters. Results: Significant correlation was observed between NE total amount and PD (P<0.05). At baseline, NE total amounts in DP were significantly higher than SP (P<0.05). Six months after therapy, changes for the total amounts and concentrations of NE were not statistically significant in SP and DP (P>0.05). Conclusions: Within the limits of this study, the findings suggested that NE activity in GCF may be an indicator of periodontal tissue destruction, but the effect of phase-I therapy on enzyme levels is not clear.

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