Influence of periodontal disease on Th1/Th2-type cytokines in saliva of HIV-positive individuals.

Cytokines present during immune responses have a tremendous influence on resistance/susceptibility to oral diseases including periodontal disease and oral opportunistic infections in the immunocompromised individual, as seen by altered Th cytokines in saliva with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease progression and oropharyngeal candidiasis. This study was designed to evaluate whether the presence of severe periodontal disease has any influence on Th cytokines in saliva of HIV-positive persons. For this, saliva from a cohort of HIV-positive persons with mild or severe periodontitis was evaluated for Th cytokines. A dominant Th2-type cytokine profile in saliva was validated in HIV-positive subjects with considerable immune suppression, irrespective of periodontal disease status. However, no significant differences in concentrations of Th1- or Th2-type cytokines in saliva were observed when stratified by periodontal status. Thus, the lack of salivary influences by periodontitis eliminates periodontal disease as a variable in interpretations regarding correlates of local cytokines during oral manifestations of HIV.