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Updated: May 22, 2026
Inducing Apical Periodontitis in Mice
Published on: August 6, 2019
Comparative Circulating Interleukin-6 Levels in Human and Mouse Periodontitis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Jeong-Min Lee1, Kyeongho Lee1, June Yeon Kim1
1Department of Oral Histology and Developmental Biology, School of Dentistry and Dental Research Institute, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.
Objective:
To quantitatively compare circulating interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels in human periodontitis and mouse models, and to evaluate the impact of experimental induction methods on systemic inflammatory responses.
Methods:
A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted according to PRISMA guidelines. Studies reporting serum or plasma IL-6 levels in periodontitis and controls were included. Human studies involved Stage III or higher periodontitis; mouse studies used ligation or inoculation models. Standardized mean differences (SMDs) were pooled using random-effects models.
Results:
Thirty-eight studies (26 human, 12 mouse) were included. Periodontitis was associated with elevated circulating IL-6 in humans (SMD = 1.57; 95% CI: 0.61-2.54) and mice (SMD = 3.79; 95% CI: 2.53-5.05), with greater increases in mice (p = 0.006). Ligature-induced models showed the largest elevation (SMD = 4.39), higher than humans (p = 0.002) and inoculation models (p = 0.006), whereas inoculation models did not differ from humans. Meta-regression confirmed stronger IL-6 responses in mice (β = 2.26; p = 0.007) and ligature models (β = 2.85; p = 0.006), indicating amplified responses in ligature-induced models.
Conclusions:
Circulating IL-6 is elevated in periodontitis across species but exaggerated in ligation models, suggesting possible overestimation of systemic inflammation in preclinical studies.
Trial Registration:
PROSPERO: CRD420251101961.
