T helper 17 cell-related cytokines in serum and saliva during management of periodontitis

Abstract

AimT helper (Th)17 cells are implicated in the pathogenesis of periodontitis. This study investigated the effect of periodontal management on fifteen Th17-related cytokines in serum and saliva in periodontitis patients. Materials and methodsPeriodontal parameters, serum and saliva were collected from 40 healthy controls and 54 periodontitis subjects before treatment, and 3-, 6- and 12-months post-treatment. Cytokine concentrations of IL-1β, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-17A, IL-17F, IL-21, IL-22, IL-23, IL-25, IL-31, IL-33, IFN-γ, sCD40L and TNF-α were determined by Luminex assay. ResultsIL-1β, IL-6, sCD40L and TNF-α in serum, and IL-1β, IL-6, IL-25 and IL-31 in saliva were significantly higher at baseline compared to health and decreased with treatment. In contrast, serum IL-31 was significantly lower at baseline compared to health and increased with treatment. In addition, salivary IL-10, IL-17A, IL-17F, IL-23, IL-33, IFN-γ and TNF-α also displayed treatment-related reduction. Correlation networks showed that cytokines in saliva displayed a higher number of correlations compared to serum in periodontitis. ConclusionTreatment generally decreased cytokine concentrations except for serum IL-31 which showed a treatment-related increase. Serum cytokine concentrations may not be reflective of salivary cytokines. Saliva may be a better medium for cytokine detection compared to serum. Serum IL-31 and salivary IL-1β, IL-6, IL-10 and TNF-α were significant predictors for mean probing depth and may be potential biomarkers of interest in the pathogenesis of periodontitis.