Interleukin‐1β+3953 allele 2: association with disease status in adult periodontitis

Abstract
Adult periodontitis is a complex multifactorial disease whose etiology is not well defined. The pro‐inflammatory and bone resorptive properties of interleukin‐1 beta (IL‐1β) strongly suggest a role for this cytokine in the pathogenesis of periodontal disease. In the study reported here, the frequency of IL‐1β+3953 genotypes including allele 2 of the IL‐1β+3953 restriction fragment length bi‐allelic polymorphism was significantly increased in patients with advanced adult periodontitis compared to those with early and moderate disease. Furthermore, allele 2 was associated with increased production of IL‐1β by activated peripheral blood polymorphonuclear cells of patients with advanced disease, although this increase failed to reach statistical significance. Finally, the data obtained revealed significant linkage disequilibrium between allele 2 of the IL‐1β+3953 polymorphism and allele 2 of the bi‐allelic IL‐1α−889 polymorphism in both patients and orally healthy controls. These findings provide new insight into the possible role of IL‐1α and β gene polymorphisms in the susceptibility to adult periodontitis.