Human soluble receptor for advanced glycation end products and tumor necrosis factor-α as gingival crevicular fluid and serum markers of inflammation in chronic periodontitis and type 2 diabetes

The present study aimed to evaluate the levels of soluble receptor for advanced glycation end products (sRAGE) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) in serum and gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) in chronic periodontitis (CP) patients with and without type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). A total of 70 subjects were divided into four groups: group 1 (n = 15; subjects with healthy periodontium); group 2 (n = 20; CP patients); group 3 (n = 20; CP patients with T2DM); and group 4 (n = 15; CP patients without T2DM). The serum and GCF levels of human sRAGE and TNF-alpha were assessed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and correlated with clinical parameters, including probing depth, gingival index and clinical attachment level. Both sRAGE and TNF-alpha levels varied with the inflammatory state of the patient; the highest levels of sRAGE were seen in group 1, whereas the lowest levels in group 3 (P < 0.05). Conversely, TNF-alpha levels were found to be the highest in group 3 and lowest in group 1 (P < 0.05). Thus, human sRAGE and TNF-alpha can be considered as possible GCF and serum markers of inflammatory activity in CP and T2DM.