Profiling inflammatory biomarkers in saliva could reveal distinct signatures of caries
Researchers may have uncovered specific inflammatory signatures present in the saliva of patients with dental caries.
In a case-control pilot study published in BDJ Open, the researchers used an ultra-sensitive electrochemiluminescence multiplex assay to quantify nine salivary cytokines — including interleukin-1 beta, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12p70, IL-17, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and interferon-gamma. They hoped to analyze whether salivary cytokines could effectively distinguish the presence of dental caries from noncarious gingival inflammation and healthy oral environments among 65 patients who provided unstimulated whole saliva samples.
The researchers discovered that compared with samples from the healthy participants and those with noncarious gingival inflammation, samples from the participants with carious lesions had higher levels of IL-17 and TNF-alpha. The combination of the two inflammatory cytokines provided the greatest discriminatory value in distinguishing carious lesions from healthy controls, while the same inflammatory markers showed a more modest discriminatory value in distinguishing carious lesions from gingival inflammation. The combination of IL-1 beta and IL-17 also provided modest discriminatory value.
The preliminary findings demonstrated that the ultra-sensitive assay could provide high sensitivity and may be feasible and reproducible — representing the potential clinical use of salivary immune profiling among patients with oral diseases. Future studies involving a wider set of clinical data will be needed to confirm the association between the inflammatory signatures and dental caries and determine whether the biomarkers can improve disease identification, risk stratification, monitoring and the understanding of oral disease immunopathophysiology. The researchers hope the results of their study can enhance individualized care strategies to treat dental decay.
Read more: BDJ Open
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