Abstract:

Objective

To describe and characterize the in vivo expression profile of IL-1β and IL-10 in various categories of human gingival tissues and investigate the correlations between these two cytokines in periodontal health and disease.

Methods

Gingival biopsies were collected from 24 subjects with chronic periodontitis， including periodontal pocket tissues （PoTs）， inflamed connective tissues （ICTs） and clinically healthy gingival tissues （HT-Ps）， and from 7 periodontally healthy subjects as controls （HT-Cs）. The expression of IL-1β and IL-10 was detected by immunohistochemistry.

Results

IL-1β mainly expressed on the surface of nuclear membrane of baser layer cells as well as in the cytoplasm of upper cells of epithelium. While IL-10 mainly expressed in the intercellular spaces of connective tissues beneath the gingival epithelium. Within the patients， the expression levels of IL-1β were significantly higher in ICTs compared to those of HT-Ps （Area% and Cell／Area）. PoTs also exhibited significantly higher expression of IL-1β than HT-Ps （Cell／Area），while the mean expression levels of IL-10 showed the contrast results. Furthermore， significantly negative correlations were detected between IL-1β levels and IL-10 levels in overall tissues.

Conclusions

These results suggested that the dynamic interactions between pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines might be crucial in periodontal pathogenesis.

Key words: IL-1β, IL-10, Chronic periodontitis