miR-221-3p as a potential biomarker of chronic periodontitis and its regulatory effect on inflammatory response.

Purpose: To explore the function of miR-221-3p in the development and course of chronic periodontitis (CP) and offer a fresh avenue for CP diagnosis and management.

Methods: miR-221-3p expression was detected by RT-qPCR. The clinical diagnostic value of miR-221-3p in CP patients was analyzed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC). ELISA was used to determine the IL-1β and IL-6 in CP subjects and healthy controls. Pearson correlation analysis was performed with miR-221-3p. PDLCs were induced by LPS, transfected with miR-221-3p mimics, and their expression was analyzed for the effects of IL-1β, and IL-6.

Results: The miR-221-3p expression was lower in the gingival sulcus fluid GCF of CP subjects compared to healthy controls. miR-221-3p showed high potential for clinical diagnosis in CP patients by ROC analysis, with high specificity and sensitivity. miR-221-3p was negatively correlated with Probing pocket depth (PD), Attachment loss (AL), Plaque index (PI), and Bleeding index (BI), and negatively correlated with inflammatory factors IL-1β and IL-6. In LPS-induced PDLCs, IL-1β and IL-6 were significantly increased, whereas miR-221-3p was significantly downregulated. Overexpression of miR-221-3p inhibited the production of inflammatory factors IL-1β and IL-6 in LPS-induced PDLCs.

Clinical significance: miR-221-3p expression may be a potential biological marker for the diagnosis of chronic periodontitis and provide a new direction for its treatment of chronic periodontitis.