Association of TNF- & and IL-10 to Chronic Periodontitis

Periodontitis is a common inflammatory disease caused predominantly by anaerobic bacteria which can activate inflammatory mechanisms in the periodontal tissues. The inflammatory response to chronic infections such as periodontitis can be central to the systemic implications of these diseases. IL–10 is an anti-inflammatory cytokine, which has been shown to modulate disease expression in chronic inflammatory diseases and Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-a) is a potent proinflammatory cytokine which plays an important role in inflammatory and immune responses. Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the possible association between IL–10 and TNF-a cytokine gene polymorphisms and susceptibility to chronic periodontitis in the Turkish population. Method: 40 chronic periodontitis patients and 86 healthy controls were compared. Genotyping was carried out by ARMS-PCR (amplification refractory mutation system) in the promoter sites of interleukin 10 (IL–10) at positions -1082 (A/G), -819 (C/T) and -592 (A/C) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-a) at position -308 (A/G). The distributions of the polymorphisms were compared in periodontal patients and healthy controls using Chi square test (c²), in SPSS statistical analysis software and odds ratio and confidence intervals calculated. Result: IL-10-1082 (A/G) (OR= 4.737, p<0.05), (A/A) (OR= 0.156, p<0.05) and TNF- a-308 (G/G) (OR=2.889, p<0.05), (A/G) (OR=0.269, p<0.05) were seen to be statistically significant in chronic periodontitis patients. Conclusions: Our finding shows that the TNF-a and IL-10 gene polymorphisms are significantly associated with susceptibility to chronic periodontitis in the Turkish population.