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

Abstract

Zhao L. Zhou Y, Xu Y, Sun Y, Li L, Chen W. Effect of non-surgical periodontal therapy on the levels of Th17/Th1/Th2 cytokines and their transcription factors in Chinese chronic periodontitis patients. J Clin Periodontol 2011; doi: 10.1111/j.1600-051X.2011.01712.x. Abstract 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-21were down-regulated (PP0.05). Correspondingly, the expression of RORC was decreased 1.99-fold (PP0.05). Moreover, the quantity of Th17 cells in peripheral blood was decreased (P+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.