Salivary levels of interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α in patients undergoing hemodialysis

BACKGROUND: Inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) are elevated in end-stage renal disease (ESRD). IL-6 and TNF-α are toxins which deteriorate renal function, and their pathogenic role has been confirmed in cardiovascular and oral diseases. This study was designed to investigate the salivary levels of IL-6 and TNF-α in patients with ESRD undergoing hemodialysis (HD). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty patients with ESRD who were treated with 4 h HD sessions, with low flux membrane were included in this cross-sectional study. Average Kt/V index in patients was 1.19 ± 0.1. Twenty age-sex-matched healthy controls with no infectious diseases during 1 month before saliva sampling were selected. Unstimulated whole saliva was collected and TNF-α and IL-6, concentrations were measured using human IL-6 and TNF-α ELISA kits. Independent t-test was used to analyze the data using SPSS (α = 0.05). RESULTS: There was a significant difference between dialysis and control groups regarding the salivary levels of TNF-α (P = 0.034) and IL-6 (P = 0.001). CONCLUSION: Considering the results of this study and reported role of inflammatory cytokines in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular and oral diseases, measurement of salivary IL-6 and TNF-α in HD patients may help in risk stratification of HD patients and in planning pertinent preventive strategies.