Severity of odontogenic phlegmons affects local mucosal immunity

Abstract

Safe methods for examining phlegmon of the maxillofacial area (MFA) have been extensively sought for, and assessing cytokine profile in the patient mixed unstimulated saliva may be used to control its development. There were enrolled 102 patients with maxillofacial phlegmon aged 25 to 75 years as well as age-matched 30 healthy subjects. Concentration of IL-1β, TNFα, TNFβ, IL-17, IFNγ, IL-4, IL-10, IL-22, TGF-β1 и TGF-β2 in mixed unstimulated saliva was measured. We found that patients with MFA inflammation vs. control group had significantly increased level of almost all cytokines except IFNγ. Additionally, we analyzed changes in saliva cytokine profile of patients with maxillofacial phlegmon, subdivided into groups by age, gender, and spread of the disease. It allowed to find that amount of IL-1β, TNFα, IL-17, IL-10, IL-22, TGF-β1 directly correlated with spread of the process, whereas level of IL-4, IFNγ, TGF-β2, on the contrary, was decreased with aggravated disease severity.