Imbalance between soluble tumour necrosis factor receptors type 1 and 2 in chronic periodontitis

Background: Soluble types of tumour necrosis factor (TNF) receptors type I and 2 modulate the TNF-alpha-mediated inflammatory responses in chronic periodontitis (CP). Objectives: This study investigated the levels of TNF-alpha, soluble TNF receptor type 1 and 2 in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) and serum of healthy subjects and CP patients. Materials and Methods: Thirty-eight sera and 73 GCF samples were collected from 16 healthy subjects and 22 CP patients. GCF was collected from probing pocket depth (PPD) <= 3 rum sites of healthy subjects, PPD <= 3, 4-6 and >= 7 mm sites of CP patients. The levels of TNF-a, soluble TNF receptor type 1 and 2 in the serum and GCF were quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay. Results: The total amounts of TNF-alpha, soluble TNF receptor type I and 2 in GCF significantly elevated with increasing PPD in both site-based (p < 0.05) and subject-based (p < 0.05) analyses. However, their levels progressively diverged as the pocket depths increased, with the soluble TNF receptor type 2 level being comparatively lower than type 1. On the other hand, soluble TNF receptor type 2/type 1 ratios in GCF decreased as the severity of periodontitis increased (p < 0.0001). Conclusion: The imbalance between soluble TNF receptor type I and 2 levels in GCF could be related to CP severity.