Effect of non-surgical periodontal therapy on the levels of Th17/Th1/Th2 cytokines and their transcription factors in Chinese chronic periodontitis patients.

AIM: A new subset of CD4(+) T cells, Th17, has been recently discovered independent from Th1/Th2 paradigm. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of non-surgical periodontal therapy on the expression of Th17/Th1/Th2 cytokines and transcription factors, and Th17 cell vibration in Chinese chronic periodontitis patients.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: The levels of Th17/Th1/Th2 cytokines (IL-17, IL-21/IFN-γ/IL-4) in gingival crevicular fluid from 30 chronic periodontitis patients before and after treatment were determined by ELISA. The expression of transcription factors (RORC, T-bet and GATA-3) in peripheral blood was measured by real-time PCR, and the levels of Th17 cells in CD4(+) T cells were determined by flow cytometry.

RESULTS: After treatment, the levels of IL-17 and IL-21 were down-regulated (P<0.05), and IL-4 was increased (P<0.05), but there were no differences in the level of IFN-γ (P>0.05). Correspondingly, the expression of RORC was decreased 1.99-fold (P<0.05), and GATA-3 was increased 1.76-fold (P<0.05). However, there were no differences in the level of T-bet (P>0.05). Moreover, the quantity of Th17 cells in peripheral blood was decreased (P<0.05), especially IL-17(+) IFN-γ(+) subgroup.

CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that Th17 cells play a destructive role in the immune balance of periodontitis, and the effect of Th1 cells is not significant, while Th2 cells have a protective effect.