RESUMO
IL17 is a pro-inflammatory cytokine which is often produced from CD4+ Th17 cells and uncertainty exists about its protective or destructive function. One of destructive functions of IL17 is through acting on osteoclasts. The aim of this study was to evaluate IL17 protein expression in tissue obtained from normal and symptomatic dental pulps. Healthy dental pulp samples and irreversible dental pulp samples were obtained from 20 third molars and 20 carious molars respectively. After tissue processing, pulp samples were immunostained with IL17 antibodies. Thereafter, distribution and staining intensity of IL17 protein was evaluated by the SID score and findings were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test. Analysing SID score with Mann-whitney test showed significant difference in IL17 [P=0.002] between symptomatic dental pulp tissues [2.35 +/- 1.23] and healthy samples [1.15 +/- 0.93]. The results indicated that significantly a greater level of IL17 is found in pulps of symptomatic teeth than those of normal teeth. Therefore IL17 may be suggested as a pathologic marker of inflammatory function in irreversible pulpitis