Salivary Azurocidin and Tumor Necrosis Factor-α Levels in Patients with Stage III-IV, Grade C Periodontitis

Abstract

Objective: Azurocidin, a neutrophil granule-derived antimicrobial protein, plays an important role in host-pathogen interactions and immunoregulation. Periodontitis is a polymicrobial inflammatory disease caused by the host response to subgingival microbiota. This study aimed to evaluate salivary azurocidin and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α levels in patients with stage III-IV, grade C periodontitis.Methods and Materials: In total 78 systemically healthy individuals (40 periodontitis (stage III-IV, grade C) and 38 periodontally healthy) were enrolled. Saliva samples were collected and clinical periodontal measurements including probing depth (PD), cli nical attachment loss (CAL), the percentage of sites with bleeding on probing (BOP %), gingival index (GI) and plaque index (PI) were recorded. Salivary azurocidin and TNF-α levels were measured by ELISA.Results: Periodontitis group exhibited higher PD, CAL, BOP (%), GI and PI values compared to the periodontally healthy group (p<0.001). Salivary azurocidin and TNF-α concentrations in periodontitis group were significantly higher than healthy controls (p<0.05). There were positive correlations among azurocidin, TNF-α and all clinical periodontal parameters (p<0.001).Conclusion: Present findings suggest that salivary azurocidin and TNF-α levels may involved in periodontal inflammation and may be useful in the diagnosis of periodontal diseases. Further studies are needed to enlighten the role of these molecules in the pathogenesis of periodontal disease.