RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Periodontitis is a complex disease, and bacterial factors play a crucial role in its initiation. The contributions of genetic and epigenetic factors to the pathogenesis of periodontal disease are increasingly recognized. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in various molecules, including cytokines, are of particular interest due to their established involvement in numerous diseases. This study investigates the influence of SNPs in the IL-10 gene at positions -592 (rs1800872) C>A and -1082 (rs1800896) T>C (also referred to as 1082A>G) on the severity of periodontitis in a cohort of Bulgarian patients. METHODS: In the recent study, both clinical and paraclinical methodologies were employed to comprehensively assess the periodontal status of the participants. The genotypic characterization of IL-10 polymorphisms was performed by PCR RFLP analysis. Statistical analyses, including principal component analysis (PCA), were executed utilizing IBM SPSS Statistics Version 21. RESULTS: We have established a statistically significant association between the presence of at least one A-allele in the patients' genotype and the incidence of severe periodontitis (p = 0.047). CONCLUSIONS: IL-10 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) could be effectively considered as biomarkers for the severity of periodontitis.