الفهرس 
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Abstract
Chronic periodontitis is a complex inflammatory disease, which is a major cause of tooth loss. The risk for chronic periodontitis is influenced by environmental and genetic factors. Cytokine gene polymorphisms may have an impact on the susceptibility to and progression of chronic periodontitis. Interleukin-8 (IL-8) is a chemokine produced primarily by blood mononuclear phagocytes, with a potent pro-inflammatory function. It mediates the migration and activation of neutrophils mainly from the peripheral blood to the injured tissue. Furthermore, IL-8 may contribute to the local destruction of periodontal tissue.
The present study was conducted to investigate the association between the IL-8 -251 T/A polymorphism and chronic periodontitis in a sample of Egyptians.
92 subjects were recruited for the study from the patient pool at the dental clinics of the faculty of dentistry, Alexandria University. All subjects were non-smokers, Egyptians and in good general health within the age range of 20-55 years of age. Subjects were divided into two main groups:
• Chronic periodontitis patients group (n=48, 10 males and 38 females with mean age of 38.5±8 years)
• Healthy controls group (n=44, 13 males and 31 females with mean age of 35±6.5 years)
The diagnosis was made on the basis of standardized clinical and radiographic criteria.
Genomic DNA was obtained from peripheral blood leukocytes by the conventional “salting out” method. Genotyping of the promoter -251 T/A polymorphism of IL-8 gene was carried out using polymerase chain reaction- with confronting two- pair primers (PCR-CTPP) analysis. Genotype and allele frequency distributions among the periodontitis patients and controls were compared using chi squared and Fisher exact tests (p<0.05).
The results of this study showed no statistically significant association between chronic periodontitis and -251T/A polymorphism of IL-8 gene. In both control and study groups, there was a strong predominance of the allele T. The frequency of allele A was slightly higher in controls (50.0%) compared to chronic periodontitis patients (47.9%). However, the differences in allele frequency distribution between both groups were found to be not statistically significant.