Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-β1) in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) and the periodontal status of subjects who were positive for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1.

Methods: Medical and demographic variables, including age, cigarette smoking, CD4 cell count, and viral load values, were recorded. At the baseline and 6-month visits, gingival index (GI), plaque index, bleeding on probing, probing depth (PD), and attachment loss (AL) were recorded, and GCF samples were taken with paper strips from three periodontitis sites (GI >0; PD ≥5 mm; AL ≥3 mm), three gingivitis sites (GI >0; PD ≤3 mm; AL = 0), and two healthy sites (GI = 0; PD ≤3 mm; AL ≤2 mm) in 25 subjects who were HIV-1⁺. GCF TGF-β1 levels were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. A statistical software package was used to analyze the data.

Results: The mean amounts of GCF TGF-β1 were greater in gingivitis and periodontitis sites than in healthy sites (P <0.0001). GCF levels of TGF-β1 correlated with PD, AL, age, smoking pack-years, CD4 cell count, and viral load at the baseline and 6-month visits (0.0001 < P <0.05). An active site was defined as a site that had ≥2 mm new AL during the 6-month study period. An active patient was defined as a patient who had one or more active site(s) during the study period. Repeated-measures analysis of 18 active sites versus 182 inactive sites indicated that GCF TGF-β1 levels were higher in active sites than in inactive sites (P <0.0001). Eleven of the 25 study subjects had active sites at the end of the 6-month study period. The mean GCF TGF-β1 level and the mean AL and PD for these 11 active subjects were higher than for the 14 inactive subjects (P <0.0001).

Conclusion: In subjects who are HIV-1⁺, sites with high GCF levels of TGF-β1 are at significantly greater risk for the progression of established periodontitis.