Salivary Biomarker Analysis to Distinguish Between Health and Periodontitis Status: A Preliminary Study

Area of Science:

• Periodontology
• Biomarker Discovery
• Oral Health Diagnostics

Background:

• Periodontitis (PRD) diagnosis often relies on clinical signs like attachment loss.
• Early, non-invasive diagnostic methods for PRD are needed to improve patient outcomes.
• Salivary biomarkers offer a promising avenue for objective PRD assessment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the feasibility of using salivary biomarkers for early periodontitis (PRD) diagnosis.
• To assess the potential of these biomarkers in monitoring treatment response in PRD patients.
• To differentiate between healthy individuals, untreated PRD, and treated PRD states using salivary analysis.

Main Methods:

• Collected salivary samples from periodontitis-free (G1) and periodontitis (G2) patients.
• Analyzed salivary levels of matrix metalloproteinase-8 (MMP-8), interleukins (IL-4, IL-10, IL-1β, IL-8, IL-6), and interferon α (IFN-α).
• Performed clinical and salivary assessments at baseline (TP0) and post-treatment (TP1 for G2).

Main Results:

• Salivary biomarkers, particularly MMP-8, IL-1β, IL-4, IL-8, and IL-10, showed significant correlations with PRD clinical indices.
• Logistic regression and ROC analyses identified MMP-8, IL-1β, IL-4, IL-8, and IL-10 as significant discriminators between healthy and PRD groups.
• MMP-8 effectively distinguished between pre- and post-treatment PRD states, while IL-8 differentiated between healthy and post-treatment PRD.

Conclusions:

• Salivary biomarkers, including MMP-8 and specific interleukins, demonstrate potential for early periodontitis (PRD) diagnosis.
• These biomarkers can effectively monitor treatment response in periodontitis patients.
• Distinct salivary molecular profiles exist for healthy, treated, and untreated periodontitis, highlighting differential inflammation regulation.