1997 Volume 39 Issue 3 Pages 375-381
Interleukin-1 (IL-1), IL-1 α and IL-1 β are known to play an important role in the progression of periodontal inflammation, and an IL-1 receptor. antagonist (IL-1ra) has been identified as a spe-cific inhibitor of IL-1 α and IL-1 β This study was designed to investigate the relationship between the levels of IL-1 α, IL-1 β and IL-1 ra in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) and the clinical indices of the patients with adult periodontitis. Eighteen inflamed moderate pockets (MP) (3mm≤probing depth < 6mm, 3mm≤clinical attach-ment loss < 7mm, positive bleeding on probing) and nine shallow pockets (SP) (probing depth < 3mm, clinical attachment loss < 3mm, negative bleeding on probing) were selected from nine patients with adult periodontitis after completion of oral hygiene instructions. Clinical examination and GCF sam-pling were performed before and after scaling/root planing. The levels of IL-1α, IL-1β and IL-1ra in GCF were determined by the sandwich ELISA system. The results showed that the amounts of IL-1α and IL-1β in MP were significantly higher than those in SP (P<0.01). The amount of IL-1 ra in MP was higher and the ratios of IL-1 ra to IL-1α and/or IL-1β in MP were lower than those in SP, however, the differences were not significant. Following scaling/root planing in MP (n=16), the amounts of IL-1α and IL-1β were significanly reduced (P<0.01) and the amount of IL-1 ra was slightly decreased, while the ratios of IL-1 ra to IL -1α and/or IL-1β were significantly increased (P<0.01). Clinical indices showed significant improvement after the scaling/root planing. These results suggest that the ratio of IL-1ra to IL-1α and/or IL-1 β may be related to the change in gingival inflammation in periodontitis.
