Correlation between salivary IL-1β levels and periodontal clinical status

Objective: To assess the concentration of the proinflammatory cytokine IL-1 beta in saliva of periodontally diseased and healthy patients and their relationship with the periodontal status. Design: Unstimulated whole saliva samples from patients with chronic periodontitis (n = 30), aggressive periodontitis (n = 18) and healthy controls (n = 18) were obtained for the study. The periodontal status of each subject was assessed by criteria based on probing depth, clinical attachment loss and the extent/severity of periodontal breakdown. The levels of IL-1 beta were measured in saliva samples with a high sensitivity enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results: Although no significant difference (P = 0.624) was found for salivary IL-1 beta levels between periodontitis groups, they were significantly greater (P < 0.01) than those detected for healthy controls. Furthermore, Spearman correlation analysis showed statistically significant correlations (P < 0.01) between data from salivary IL-1 beta levels and clinical measurements. Conclusion: The findings of the present study reemphasize the importance of whole saliva as sampling method in terms of immunological purposes in periodontal disease and suggest that the elevated IL-1 beta concentration may be one of the host-response components associated to the clinical manifestations of periodontal disease. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.