Relationship of surface epithelium concentrations of IL-1 alpha and IL-1 beta to clinical inflammation during experimental gingivitis

Salivary cytokine levels in subjects with chronic periodontitis and in periodontally healthy individuals: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Saliva has been proposed as a noninvasive diagnostic fluid that could be used in the diagnosis of oral and systemic diseases. The levels of salivary biomarkers, such as cytokines, could potentially be used as a surrogate to distinguish periodontally healthy individuals from subjects with periodontitis. Therefore, the goal of the present investigation was to determine if the levels of 10 different cytokines in saliva differed between a group of periodontally healthy individuals and a group of subjects with periodontitis. Correlations between the concentrations of these 10 cytokines and clinical parameters of periodontal disease were also examined.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

In this cross-sectional study, 74 subjects with chronic periodontitis and 44 periodontally healthy individuals were periodontally examined and had the levels of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, interleukin-1beta, interleukin-2, interleukin-4, interleukin-5, interleukin-6, interleukin-8, interleukin-10, interferon-gamma and tumor necrosis factor-alpha measured in whole saliva using a multiplexed bead immunoassay (Luminex). Significance of statistical differences in the levels of salivary cytokines between groups was determined using nonparametric analysis of covariance, adjusting for age and smoking status. The Spearman rank correlation coefficient was used to explore associations between the mean levels of salivary cytokines and mean clinical parameters.

RESULTS

There were no statistically significant differences between groups for any of the cytokines. There were weak, statistically significant positive associations between salivary interleukin-8 and pocket depth (r(s) = 0.2, p < 0.05) and bleeding on probing (r(s) = 0.2, p < 0.05), and weak negative correlations between salivary interleukin-10 and attachment level (r(s) = -0.2, p < 0.05) and bleeding on probing (r(s) = -0.3, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Mean salivary levels of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, interleukin-1beta, interleukin-2, interleukin-4, interleukin-5, interleukin-6, interleukin-8, interleukin-10, interferon-gamma and tumor necrosis factor-alpha could not discriminate between periodontal health and disease.

The effect of gingival retraction procedures on periodontal indices and crevicular fluid cytokine levels: a pilot study

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of placement of retraction cord subgingivally upon periodontal indices including plaque index (PI), gingival index (GI), pocket depth (PD), bleeding on probing (BOP), and attachment level (AL), as well as gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) and TNF-alpha levels.

METHODS

Ten teeth in 6 patients who were periodontally healthy were selected. These teeth had pocket depths of 3 mm or less, no evidence of significant loss of attachment, BOP, or plaque accumulation. The patients each received an oral prophylaxis. The following week, baseline measurements of periodontal indices and TNF-alpha were taken and the retraction cord was placed for 15 minutes. Following removal, the patients were dismissed. The periodontal indices measured included PI, GI, PD, BOP, and AL. In addition, the levels of TNF-alpha in GCF, were investigated. These measurements were made before gingival retraction as a baseline and on the 1st, 3rd, 7th, 14th, and 28th days post retraction.

RESULTS

A repeated measures ANOVA showed that TNF-alpha levels in GCF were significantly increased at all five intervals after gingival retraction compared to the baseline. The mean TNF-alpha level peaked at Day 1 (0.90 +/- 0.62), then declined at Days 3 (0.53 +/- 0.16), 7 (0.43 +/- 0.08), 14 (0.47 +/- 0.10), and 28 (0.43 +/- 0.08) but was still elevated 54% above baseline at Day 28, p < 0.01. The GI was significantly elevated at Day 1 (0.9 +/- 0.49), p < 0.01; Day 3 (0.53 +/- 0.32); and Day 7 (0.33 +/- 0.33), p < 0.05. Unlike TNF-alpha, GI recovered to the baseline by day 14. Other periodontal parameters, PI, PD, BOP, and AL were not significantly altered by the gingival retraction procedure.

CONCLUSION

This pilot study supports the previous research that gingival retraction causes an acute injury that heals clinically in 2 weeks as is indicated by the GI. It also provides the first evidence that gingival retraction results in an elevation of the proinflammatory cytokine, TNF-alpha, in GCF.