IL-10 Gene Polymorphism Protects Against Aggressive Periodontitis in Iranian Population

Objectives: Periodontitis is a multifactorial disease and its severe forms such as aggressive periodontitis are suggested to have a genetic basis. Among the genetic factors, polymorphisms in cytokine genes have recently been described in susceptibility to periodontitis.IL-10 is a multi-functional cytokine thought to play a role in pathogenesis of periodontitis. A substitution G/A polymorphism in the promoter region of IL-10 gene at position -1082 has been associated with different amount of IL-10 production. The aim of the present study is to investigate the association of the -1082(G/A) polymorphism with generalized form of Aggressive Periodontitis.

Materials and methods: This study included 37 Iranian Khorasanian subjects suffering from generalized aggressive periodontitis (GAP) referred to periodontology department of Mashad Dental School. They were compared to 43 healthy controls of the same race. The DNA was isolated from peripheral blood cells and genotyping was performed by means of ARMS-PCR method. Data was analyzed using chi-square test.

Results: There was a marked difference in allele frequencies between controls and GAP patients. The G allele carriage was significantly more prevalent among the GAP subjects, while the A allele was significantly associated with healthy periodontal status (p=0.040). Moreover, the proportion of subjects which showed the AA genotype in comparison to subjects exhibiting a genotype other than AA, was significantly larger in the control group (p=0.040).

Conclusions: We concluded that the polymorphic nucleotide A at position -1082 of the IL-10 gene protects against GAP in our population.This may help us to investigate the role of genetic variations among individuals in susceptibility to periodontal disease.