Analysis of subgingival microbiome of periodontal disease and rheumatoid arthritis in Chinese: A case-control study

Changes in the nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal microbiota in pediatric obstructive sleep apnea before and after surgery: a prospective study

OBJECTIVE

To explore the changes and potential mechanisms of microbiome in different parts of the upper airway in the development of pediatric OSA and observe the impact of surgical intervention on oral microbiome for pediatric OSA.

METHODS

Before adeno-tonsillectomy, we collected throat swab samples from different parts of the oropharynx and nasopharynx of 30 OSA patients and 10 non-OSA patients and collected throat swab samples from the oropharynx of the above patients one month after the adeno-tonsillectomy. The 16 S rRNA V3-V4 region was sequenced to identify the microbial communities. The correlation analysis was conducted based on clinical characteristics.

RESULTS

There was a significant difference of alpha diversity in different parts of the upper airway of pediatric OSA, but this difference was not found in children with non-OSA. Beta diversity was significantly different between non-OSA and pediatric OSA. At the genus level, the composition of flora in different parts is different between non-OSA and pediatric OSA. The correlation analysis revealed that the relative abundance of Neisseria was significantly correlated with obstructive apnea hypopnea index. Furthermore, the functional prediction revealed that pathways related to cell proliferation and material metabolism were significantly different between non-OSA and pediatric OSA. Besides, the adeno-tonsillectomy has minimal impact on oral microbiota composition in short term.

CONCLUSION

The changes in upper airway microbiome are highly associated with pediatric OSA. The relative abundance of some bacteria was significantly different between OSA and non-OSA. These bacteria have the potential to become new diagnostic and early warning biomarkers.

Harnessing the Microbiome: A Comprehensive Review on Advancing Therapeutic Strategies for Rheumatic Diseases

Rheumatic diseases are a group of disorders that affect the joints, muscles, and bones. These diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and psoriatic arthritis, can cause pain, stiffness, and swelling, leading to reduced mobility and disability. Recent studies have identified the microbiome, the diverse community of microorganisms that live in and on the human body, as a potential factor in the development and progression of rheumatic diseases. Harnessing the microbiome offers a promising new avenue for developing therapeutic strategies for these debilitating conditions. There is growing interest in the role of oral and gut microbiomes in the management of rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune disease. Microbial metabolites have immunomodulatory properties that could be exploited for rheumatic disorders. A wide range of microorganisms are present in the oral cavity and are found to be vulnerable to the effects of the environment. The physiology and ecology of the microbiota become intimately connected with those of the host, and they critically influence the promotion of health or progression toward disease. This article aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of knowledge on oral and gut microbiome and its potential future role in the management of rheumatic diseases. This article will also discuss newer treatment strategies such as bioinformatic analyses and fecal transplantation.

The oral microbiome in autoimmune diseases: friend or foe?

The human body is colonized by abundant and diverse microorganisms, collectively known as the microbiome. The oral cavity has more than 700 species of bacteria and consists of unique microbiome niches on mucosal surfaces, on tooth hard tissue, and in saliva. The homeostatic balance between the oral microbiota and the immune system plays an indispensable role in maintaining the well-being and health status of the human host. Growing evidence has demonstrated that oral microbiota dysbiosis is actively involved in regulating the initiation and progression of an array of autoimmune diseases.Oral microbiota dysbiosis is driven by multiple factors, such as host genetic factors, dietary habits, stress, smoking, administration of antibiotics, tissue injury and infection. The dysregulation in the oral microbiome plays a crucial role in triggering and promoting autoimmune diseases via several mechanisms, including microbial translocation, molecular mimicry, autoantigen overproduction, and amplification of autoimmune responses by cytokines. Good oral hygiene behaviors, low carbohydrate diets, healthy lifestyles, usage of prebiotics, probiotics or synbiotics, oral microbiota transplantation and nanomedicine-based therapeutics are promising avenues for maintaining a balanced oral microbiome and treating oral microbiota-mediated autoimmune diseases. Thus, a comprehensive understanding of the relationship between oral microbiota dysbiosis and autoimmune diseases is critical for providing novel insights into the development of oral microbiota-based therapeutic approaches for combating these refractory diseases.

Anti-Citrullinated Peptide Antibodies Control Oral Porphyromonas and Aggregatibacter species in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Oral microbiome changes take place at the initiation of rheumatoid arthritis (RA); however, questions remain regarding the oral microbiome at pre-RA stages in individuals with clinically suspect arthralgia (CSA). Two cross-sectional cohorts were selected including 84 Tatarstan women (15 early-RA as compared to individuals with CSA ranging from CSA = 0 [n = 22], CSA = 1 [n = 19], CSA = 2 [n = 11], and CSA ≥ 3 [n = 17]) and 42 women with established RA (median: 5 years from diagnosis [IQ: 2–11]). Amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) obtained from oral samples (16S rRNA) were analyzed for alpha and beta diversity along with the abundance at the genus level. A decrease in oral Porphyromonas sp. is observed in ACPA-positive individuals, and this predominates in early-RA patients as compared to non-RA individuals irrespective of their CSA score. In the RA-established cohort, Porphyromonas sp. and Aggregatibacter sp. reductions were associated with elevated ACPA levels. In contrast, no associations were reported when considering individual, genetic and clinical RA-associated factors. Oral microbiome changes related to the genera implicated in post-translational citrullination (Porphyromonas sp. and Aggregatibacter sp.) characterized RA patients with elevated ACPA levels, which supports that the role of ACPA in controlling the oral microbiome needs further evaluation.

Oral, Nasal, and Gut Microbiota in Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most frequently diagnosed neurodegenerative disease. The purpose of this study was to investigate the link between microbiota composition in important mucosal interfaces (oral, nasal, and intestinal) and PD. Sequencing was undertaken of the V4-V5 region of the 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene of the microbiome from the oral cavity, nasal cavity, and gut of 91 PD patients and 91 healthy controls. Significant differences were found in microbiota composition in the oral cavity and gut, but not the nasal cavity, between PD patients and healthy controls after adjusting for age, gender, and body mass index (BMI). More genera in the oral cavity were significantly positively correlated with clinical characteristics, such as the HAMA and HAMD rating scales. The taxa c_Clostridia, o_Clostridiales, and f_Ruminococcaceae in the gut microbiota were associated with weight and MMSE score. Furthermore, as a result of dysbiosis, there was an enrichment of ion channel-, oxidative phosphorylation-, and carbohydrate metabolism-related pathways in the oral cavity and glycolysis/gluconeogenesis- and propanoate metabolism-related pathways in the intestine. Changes in these pathways can influence metabolism and inflammation, thereby contributing to PD pathogenesis. In addition, several subnetworks containing differentially abundant microbiota in the oral cavity and gut samples from PD patients may regulate microbial composition and function in PD. Overall, our results indicate that oral and gut dysbiosis may affect PD progression and provide a basis for understanding the pathogenesis of PD and identifying potential therapeutic targets for the treatment of this disease.