Salivary Gene Expression and Systemic Inflammatory Markers in Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Periodontal Disease
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 31, 2026
Inducing Apical Periodontitis in Mice
Published on: August 6, 2019
C Collado1, C Llena, F-J Silvestre
1Cristina Collado Public Health Service (GVA), Valencia, Spain cristicollin@hotmail.com.
Background:
To evaluate whether periodontal status modulates systemic low-grade inflammation and the expression of salivary molecular biomarkers in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).
Materials And Methods:
A cross-sectional observational study was conducted in 113 patients distributed into three groups: periodontitis (n=52), OSA with periodontitis (n=30), and OSA without periodontitis (n=31). Systemic inflammatory markers were analyzed in peripheral blood, including interleukin-6 (IL-6), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP), fibrinogen, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR), platelet-to-leukocyte ratio (PLR), and high-density lipoprotein (HDL). Salivary mRNA expression of leptin (LEP), leptin receptor (LEPR), and C-C motif chemokine ligand 2 (CCL2) was determined by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Associations between biomarkers, periodontal parameters, and OSA severity were assessed.
Results:
Patients with OSA and periodontitis showed significantly higher levels of IL-6 (p<0.001) and fibrinogen (p<0.05), whereas CRP showed an increasing trend without reaching statistical significance. In patients with OSA, salivary LEP mRNA expression was negatively correlated with the oxygen desaturation index (ODI) (r = -0.627; p = 0.044). A trend toward increased salivary expression of LEP, LEPR, and CCL2 was observed in the presence of periodontal disease.
Conclusions:
The coexistence of OSA and periodontal disease is associated with a more pronounced systemic inflammatory profile and a trend toward altered expression of salivary biomarkers.
