Amount of interleukin-1β and interleukin-1 receptor antagonist in periodontitis and healthy patients.

Objective: Regulation of interleukin-1β (IL-1β) is a critical element of immune responses in health and disease. Additional research is required to determine the levels of interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) sufficient to inhibit inteleukine-1-induced responses in periodontium. The aim of this study was to compare the levels of IL-1β, IL-1ra in gingival crevicular fluid samples obtained from periodontitis and healthy patients.
Design of the Study: The periodontitis group consisted of 50 patients (F-31, M-19) with chronic periodontitis. The control group consisted of 30 periodontally healthy subjects (F-19, M-11). Oral hygiene index-simplified, gingival index, pocket depth, clinical attachment level were measured. The concentrations of interleukins in gingival crevicular fluid were measured by the ELISA technique.
Results: The total amounts of interleukin-1β and IL-1ra were significantly higher in periodontitis group than in the control group (P<0.05). The levels of each cytokine were reported also as moles. In the control group there were 800-times more moles/sample of IL-1ra than IL-1β. In periodontitis group nearly 300-times more moles/sample of IL-1ra was obtained. The significant positive Spearman's rank correlations was identified between both concentrations (R=0.39; P<0.05) and total amounts (R=0.31; P<0.05) of cytokines in the periodontitis group.
Conclusion: The increased secretion of IL-1ra in periodontitis is not adequate to "curb" the release of IL-1β.
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