Periostin and TGFβ1 levels in the saliva and gingival fluid of periodontitis patients: a cross-sectional study

Periodontitis is a chronic infectious disease characterized by the progressive destruction of tooth-supporting tissues. Identifying reliable, noninvasive biomarkers is essential for improving early detection and monitoring. This cross-sectional case‒control study evaluated clinical periodontal parameters and quantified periostin and transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-β1) levels in the saliva and gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) of patients with stage I-II periodontitis and periodontally healthy controls. A total of 60 systemically healthy, nonsmoking participants aged 20-60 years were included (30 periodontitis patients and 30 periodontally healthy controls). Clinical periodontal parameters, including the plaque index, gingival index, probing depth, and clinical attachment level, were recorded. GCF and saliva samples were analyzed using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Compared with periodontally healthy controls, stage I-II periodontitis patients had significantly greater numbers of clinical periodontal parameters (p < 0.001). They also had elevated salivary periostin (1,234.5 ± 505.82 ng/mL vs. 596.32 ± 320.47 ng/mL; p = 0.001), GCF TGF-β1 (10.14 ± 4.44 pg/mL vs. 6.50 ± 3.13 pg/mL; p = 0.003), and salivary TGF-β1 (31.59 ± 7.69 pg/mL vs. 20.25 ± 9.48 pg/mL; p = 0.001) levels. GCF periostin levels did not significantly differ between the periodontitis group (311.3 ± 210.3 ng/mL) and the periodontally healthy control group (208.6 ± 147.6 ng/mL) (p = 0.092). These findings suggest that salivary periostin and TGF-β1, together with GCF TGF-β1, may serve as promising noninvasive biomarkers for the diagnosis and monitoring of early-stage periodontitis. Salivary periostin showed particularly strong discriminatory potential and may hold promise for future chairside diagnostic applications.