Objective: The purpose of this study was to provide an overall assessment of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-a, granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF), interleukin (IL)-1a and b levels as well as matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-1, -2, -8, -9, and -13, and tissue inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinase (TIMP)-1 and -2 activities in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) of patients with chronic periodontitis (ChP) and aggressive periodontitis (AgP), and compare the same with clinically healthy subjects. Methods: GCF samples were collected with sterile paper strips from healthy (probing depth (PD)£3mm) and diseased sites (PD³6mm) of eight ChP patients and four AgP patients, and from healthy sites (PD£3mm) of five subjects with healthy periodontal status. Cytokines, MMPs and TIMPs levels in GCF were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Gingival tissues of both healthy and diseased sites were obtained for histological observation. Results: IL-1a and b levels were much higher in GCF from diseased sites of ChP and AgP patients as compared with their healthy sites (p<0.05). No statistically significant differences in MMPs levels were found between in diseased sites and in healthy sites of ChP and AgP patients. However, higher levels of MMP-9 were detected in GCF of diseased sites of ChP patients compared with diseased sites of AgP patients (p<0.05). TIMP-1 levels of AgP patients were higher in healthy sites than in diseased sites (P<0.05). TIMP-2 levels in healthy sites of AgP patients were much higher than in healthy sites of ChP patients (P<0.05). Conclusion: These results demonstrate that higher levels of IL-1a and b seem to reflect a diseased state of ChP and AgP. However, the contributory roles of MMPs and TIMPs were different between ChP and AgP.

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