Potential Role of Vitamin D and Antimicrobial Peptide LL-37 in Severity of Dental Caries: an Exvivo Study

Abstract

Abstract Vitamin D performs various functions as a hormone by promoting calcium absorption but the role of vitamin D is most important is in the role in innate immunity cell differentiation, cell maturation through its genomic effects via vitamin D receptor. The immune response also plays a major role in tooth surface and supporting structure destruction and playing a major factor in high caries formation. The inflammatory cytokines are released has proinflammatory cytokines and stimulate cells in disease process. Therefore, in the present study we have evaluated the association of salivary vitamin D, LL-37, interleukins 6 and 17A in various levels of severity of dental caries. The study showed that, the salivary vitamin D statistically decreased with increasing severity of caries which showed that vitamin D plays an important role in prevention of caries.. Antimicrobial peptide LL-37 was higher in caries free group but was not statistically significant, salivary IL-6 level was higher in caries active group but intergroup comparison did not show significant difference, this could be attributed to the pro inflammatory activity of Interleukin 6. Salivary IL-17A did not show statistically significant between caries active and caries free group, this could be attributed to the levels of salivary LL-37 in saliva.