Abstract
Cytokines are pivotal to the immune response of chronic periodontitis. The present study investigated the changes of gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) interleukin-4 (IL-4) and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) in patients with chronic periodontitis before and after initial nonsurgical periodontal therapy (NSPT). GCF was collected from 17 patients by means of Periopaper at baseline and 1 month after NSPT. IL-4 and IFN-gamma were measured by enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay. NSPT resulted in decreased total amount of IFN-gamma, increased concentration of IL-4, and increased ratio of IL-4 to IFN-gamma levels. We suggest that a low ratio of IL-4 to IFN-gamma levels might be involved in the destruction (diseased sites) of periodontal tissue, whereas an increased ratio of IL-4 to IFN-gamma levels could be related to the improvement of clinical periodontal health.