Polymorphism of IL-1α(-889) Gene and Its Association with Aggressive Periodontitis

Adult periodontitis is a complex multifactorial disease whose etiology is not well defined. The pro-inflammatory and bone resorption properties of Interleukine-1α (IL-1α) strongly suggest a role for this cytokine in the pathogenesis of periodontal disease. Eighty Iranian adult patients with periodontitis and 80 Iranian controls were investigated in this study. In this study we report that the frequency of IL-1α genotypes including allele 2 of the IL-1α(-889) restriction fragment length bi-allele polymorphism were significantly increased in patients with advanced aggressive adult periodontitis compared to those with early and moderate disease. Furthermore, allele 2 was associated with increased production of IL-1α 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 2of the IL-1α (-889) polymorphism and allele 2 of the bi-allelic IL-1β (+3953) polymorphism in both patients and orally normal controls. These findings provide new insight into the possible rate of IL-1α and β genes polymorphism in the susceptibility to adult periodontitis.