Correlation between salivary HBD-2 and LL-37 expression levels with blood glucose and periodontal status in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Objective: To examine the correlation between salivary human β defensin-2 (HBD-2) and LL-37 expression levels and blood glucose in relationship to periodontal status in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Methods: The trial is available at: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ with ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03512675. A total of 89 patients with T2DM with chronic periodontitis (CP) enrolled in our hospital from January 2020 to December 2020 were selected. According to the degree of glycemic control and CP, the patients were randomly divided into four groups, namely the good glycemic control and mild CP group (n=26), good glycemic control with moderate to severe CP group (n=24), poor glycemic control with mild CP group (n=21), and poor glycemic control with moderate to severe CP group (n=18). The periodontal clinical parameters, blood glucose indicators, and saliva HBD-2 and LL-37 expression levels were determined.

Results: The expression levels of HBD-2 and LL-37 in the saliva of T2DM patients with moderate to severe CP and poor blood sugar control were significantly increased (P<0.05). Saliva HBD-2 and LL-37 levels were positively correlated with probing depth, clinical attachment loss, plaque index, and glycosylated hemoglobin. There was a synergistic interaction between blood glucose, periodontal status, and saliva HBD-2, LL-37 levels (P<0.05).

Conclusion: There is a positively correlated relationship between blood glucose and periodontal status with salivary HBD-2 and LL-37 levels.