Background: Severe forms of periodontitis are suggested to have a genetic basis.
Objective: The aim of the present investigation was to study association of an IL10 gene polymorphism (G to A transition at the -1087 position) with severe chronic periodontitis.
Materials and methods: Two groups of Swedish Caucasian subjects were included. One group consisted of 60 patients (aged 36-74 years; mean 54.5+/-8.5) with severe and generalized chronic periodontitis. The patients exhibited bone loss >50% at all teeth. Thirty-nine periodontally healthy subjects between 35-78 years of age (mean 51.0+/-10.9) were also recruited. DNA was isolated from peripheral blood cells and genotyping was performed by combination of PCR with restriction endonuclease mapping.
Results: The proportion of subjects that exhibited the GG genotype was significantly larger in the group with severe periodontitis than in the periodontally healthy group. The difference regarding the occurrence of the GG genotype between the two groups was more conspicuous in non-smokers and yielded an odds ratio of 6.1. The G allele carriage in non-smokers was >90 % in the periodontitis group and was significantly higher than in the healthy controls.
Conclusion: It is suggested that the -1087 IL10 polymorphism in Caucasian subjects of a north European origin is associated with severe chronic periodontitis.