The impact of the IL-11:IL-17 ratio on the chronic periodontitis pathogenesis: a preliminary report

Objective:  An imbalance in the pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines may be responsible for periodontal breakdown through immune responses. This study aimed to determine the total amount, concentration and ratio of interleukin (IL)-11 and IL-17 in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) of chronic periodontitis (CP) patients.
Materials and methods:  Forty CP patients and 20 healthy controls (C) were included. The CP group was divided into two subgroups in line with the probing depth (PD) in GCF-sampling sites (CPa: PD ≥ 5 mm, CPb: PD ≤ 4 mm). For each patient, gingival index, plaque index, gingival bleeding time index, PD, and clinical attachment level values were recorded. IL-11 and IL-17 in GCF were evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays.
Results:  The total amount and concentration of IL-11 and IL-17 were significantly lower in the CPa group (P <   0.05). The C group has the highest IL-11:IL-17 ratio, followed by CPb and CPa groups respectively. The ratio was significantly lower in CPa group than the CPb and C groups (P <   0.01).
Conclusion:  Our data confirm that the decreased ratio of IL-11:IL-17 may be a factor, which has shown this imbalance between the cytokines' activities in deeper pockets in our study.