Abstract
The present study aimed to examine the expression of interleukin-6 receptor (IL-6R) mRNA and protein in pulp tissues, blood and saliva from patients with pulpitis. It also investigated the association between IL-6R and microRNA (miR)-30b, as well as their effects on pulpitis. A total of 28 patients with pulpitis were recruited into the experimental group and 16 subjects with no pulpitis who also underwent tooth extraction were recruited into the control group. Pulp tissues, plasma and saliva were collected from all participants. Reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used to determine the expression of IL-6R mRNA and miR-30b in all sample types. Western blot analysis was performed to examine the protein expression of IL-6R in pulp tissues, while ELISA was used to determine the contents of IL-6R protein in the plasma and saliva samples. A dual luciferase reporter assay was performed to verify the interactions between IL-6R and miR-30b. The expression of IL-6R mRNA in the pulp tissues, plasma and saliva was significantly increased in patients with pulpitis compared with the control group. Similarly, the IL-6R protein expression in the samples from patients with pulpitis were also significantly increased compared with the control group. Conversely, the expression of miR-30b was significantly reduced in the samples from patients with pulpitis compared with the control group. The dual luciferase reporter assay revealed that miR-30b may bind with the 3'-untranslated seed region of IL-6R mRNA to regulate its expression. The present study demonstrated that the upregulated expression of IL-6R in pulp tissues, plasma and saliva from patients with pulpitis was associated with the downregulation of miR-30b expression. In addition, miR-30b may affect the progression of pulpitis via IL-6R and may be a potential genetic marker for the diagnosis of pulpitis.