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

Background: Soluble types of tumour necrosis factor (TNF) receptors type 1 and 2 modulate the TNF-α-mediated inflammatory responses in chronic periodontitis (CP).

Objectives: This study investigated the levels of TNF-α, 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 mm sites of healthy subjects, PPD3, 4–6 and 7 mm sites of CP patients. The levels of TNF-α, 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-α, soluble TNF receptor type 1 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 1 and 2 levels in GCF could be related to CP severity.