The Relationship BetweenPorphyromonas gingivalisInfection and Local and Systemic Factors in Children

Allergic rhinitis and periodontitis among Korean adults: results from a nationwide population-based study (2013-2015)

BACKGROUND

The purpose of this study was to examine whether allergic rhinitis is associated with periodontal disease in a representative sample of elderly Korean people that was adjusted for socio-demographic factors, oral and general health behaviors, and systemic health status.

METHODS

A total of 10,643 subjects who were between 20 and 59 years of age participated in the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and underwent cross-sectional examination. Medical history of allergic rhinitis was collected from participants by questionnaire; additionally, periodontal status was assessed using a Community Periodontal Index score of 3 or 4. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to adjust for socio-demographic variables, oral health status and behaviors, and general health status and behaviors. All analyses were performed using a complex sampling design.

RESULTS

Allergic rhinitis and periodontitis showed a significant inverse association. After adjusting for all confounders, a trend of decreasing periodontitis risk was observed as allergic rhinitis increased. The adjusted odds ratio of periodontitis was 0.79 (0.66-0.95) for patients with allergic rhinitis.

CONCLUSION

A significant inverse association between allergic rhinitis and periodontal status was demonstrated in this patient population.

Gingipains Inactivate a Cell Surface Ligand onPorphyromonas gingivalisThat Induces TLR2- and TLR4-Independent Signaling

Arginine-specific gingipain and lysine-specific gingipain are two major cysteine proteinases produced by Porphyromonas gingivalis. To clarify the role of gingipains in the interaction between P. gingivalis and the innate immune system, CHO reporter cells expressing TLR2 or TLR4 were stimulated with wildtype or gingipain-deficient P. gingivalis cells and activation of nuclear factor-kappaB in these cells was examined. While CHO/CD14 cells and 7.19 cells, an MD-2-defective mutant derived from CHO/CD14 cells, failed to respond to wild-type P. gingivalis, they responded to gingipain-deficient P. gingivalis. On the other hand, CHO/CD14/TLR2 cells responded to both wild-type and gingipain-deficient P. gingivalis. These results suggested that gingipains have no effects on TLR2-dependent signaling from P. gingivalis but have inhibitory effects on TLR2-and TLR4-independent signaling in CHO cells. Indeed, the activity of gingipain-deficient P. gingivalis to induce the activation of 7.19 cells was diminished after treatment of the bacterial cells with gingipains. We next partially purified bacterial cell components activating 7.19 cells from gingipain-deficient P. gingivalis. The activity of the partially purified components was diminished by treatment with heat or gingipains. It is also noteworthy that anti-CD14 mAb inhibited the activation of 7.19 cells induced by the partially purified components. These results indicated that the components of P. gingivalis that were able to induce TLR2-and TLR4-independent signaling were inactivated by gingipains before being recognized by CD14. The inactivation of the components would be helpful for P. gingivalis to escape from the innate immune system.

Acquisition of oral microbes and associated systemic responses of newborn nonhuman primates

The acquisition and development of the complex oral microbiome remain ill defined. While selected species of oral bacteria have been examined in relation to their initial colonization in neonates, a more detailed understanding of the dynamics of the microbiome has been developed only in adults. The current investigation used a nonhuman primate model to document the kinetics of colonization of the oral cavities of newborns and infants by a range of oral commensals and pathogens. Differences in colonization were evaluated in newborns from mothers who were maintained on an oral hygiene regimen pre- and postparturition with those displaying naturally acquired gingivitis/periodontitis. The results demonstrate distinct profiles of acquisition of selected oral bacteria, with the transmission of targeted pathogens, Porphyromonas gingivalis and Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, being passed on primarily from mothers with gingivitis/periodontitis. This colonization resulted in defined patterns of systemic antibody responses in the infants. The significant relative risk measures for infection with the pathogens, as well as the relationship of oral infection and blood serum antibody levels, were consistent with those of the newborns from mothers with gingivitis/periodontitis. These findings indicate that the early acquisition of potentially pathogenic oral bacterial species might impact the development of mucosal responses in the gingiva and may provide an enhanced risk for the development of periodontitis later in life.

Periodontal pathogen levels in adolescents before, during, and after fixed orthodontic appliance therapy

INTRODUCTION

This purpose of this study was to document and investigate changes in periodontal pathogen levels before, during, and after orthodontic treatment in adolescents.

METHODS

DNA gene probe analysis was used to quantify the levels of 8 periodontal pathogens before, during, and after treatment with fixed orthodontic appliances in 190 concurrently treated adolescent orthodontic patients. The 8 pathogens examined were Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans (AA), Porphyromonas gingivalis (PG), Prevotella intermedia (PI), Tannerella forsythia (TF), Eikenella corrodens (EC), Fusobacterium nucleatum (FN), Treponema denticola (TD), and Campylobacter rectus (CR). Chi-square tests were used to determine whether the percentages of subjects with high counts significantly changed over time. Logistic regression analyses were also performed to derive the relative risk of higher counts of pathogenic bacteria with fixed appliances at the various time intervals studied.

RESULTS

For 6 (PI, TF, EC, FN, TD, CR) of the 8 pathogens, the percentages of subjects with high pathogen counts increased significantly after 6 months of fixed appliance treatment, but these returned to pretreatment levels by 12 months of orthodontic treatment. No pathogen level was significantly higher after 12 months of orthodontic treatment, and orthodontic treatment was found to be significantly protective for half of the pathogens (EC, FN, TD, CR) posttreatment.

CONCLUSIONS

Orthodontic treatment with fixed appliances does not increase the risk of high levels of these periodontal pathogens.

Effects of age and oral disease on systemic inflammatory and immune parameters in nonhuman primates

This report evaluated systemic inflammatory and immune biomarkers in a cohort of Macaca mulatta (rhesus monkeys) maintained as a large family social unit, including an age range from <1 year to >24 years. We hypothesized that the systemic host responses would be affected by the age, gender, and clinical oral presentation of the population, each contributing to inflammatory and immune responses that would reflect chronic oral infections. The results demonstrated that the prevalence and severity of periodontitis, including missing teeth, increased significantly with age. Generally, minimal differences in clinical parameters were noted between the genders. Systemic inflammatory mediators, including acute-phase reactants, prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)), cytokines/chemokines, and selected matrix metalloproteinases (MMP), demonstrated significant differences among the various age groups of animals. Levels of many of these were increased with age, although PGE(2), RANTES, bactericidal permeability-inducing factor (BPI), MMP-1, and MMP-9 levels were significantly increased in the young group ( approximately 1 to 3 years old) relative to those for the older animals. We observed that in the adult and aged animals, levels of the systemic inflammatory mediators related to gingival inflammation and periodontal tissue destruction were significantly elevated. Serum antibody levels in response to a battery of periodontal pathogens were generally lower in the young animals, <50% of those in the adults, and were significantly related to aging in the cohort. The levels of antibodies, particularly those to Porphorymonas gingivalis, Fusobacterium nucleatum, and Tannerella forsythia, were most significantly elevated in animals with periodontal disease, irrespective of the age of the animal. These results provide a broad description of oral health and host responses in a large cohort of nonhuman primates from very young animals to the aged of this species. The findings afford a base of data with which to examine the ontogeny of host responses at mucosal sites, such as the gingival tissues.

Inverse association between periodontitis and respiratory allergies in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus

AIM

In a general adult population, we have demonstrated an inverse association between periodontitis and respiratory allergies that is in line with the hygiene hypothesis suggesting a protective effect of infections against the development of allergies. The objective of the present study was to investigate the association between periodontitis and respiratory allergies in a type 1 diabetes mellitus population.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The study population comprised 170 patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus aged 17-80 years. Respiratory allergies were present in 22 subjects. The attachment loss (AL) was measured. Periodontitis was defined according to the percentage of surfaces that exceeded 3 mm AL (healthy, mild, moderate, severe periodontal conditions).

RESULTS

Our adjusted analyses revealed an inverse association between periodontitis and respiratory allergies. For increasing AL, a trend towards a decreasing risk was present for respiratory allergies (p(trend)<0.05). Compared with subjects with healthy periodontal conditions, individuals with severe periodontal conditions had the lowest risk of respiratory allergies [odds ratios (OR) 0.06 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.01-0.39)], followed by subjects with moderate AL [OR 0.14 (95% CI 0.03-0.63)] and mild AL [OR 0.32 (95% CI 0.09-1.08)].

CONCLUSION

There is a strong inverse association between periodontitis and respiratory allergies in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus. These findings further support the hygiene hypothesis.

Inverse association between periodontitis and respiratory allergies

BACKGROUND

Periodontitis is an infection with systemic effects and a high prevalence among adults. In the aetiology of allergic diseases the hygiene hypothesis claims that infections in early infancy may protect against allergic diseases.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of the present analyses was to investigate the independent relation between periodontitis and respiratory allergies such as hayfever, house dust mite (HDM) allergy and asthma.

METHODS

From the Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP) a total number of 2837 subjects aged 20 to 59 years were included in the analysis. In our study population 326, 111 and 114 subjects were classified as suffering from hayfever, HDM allergy or asthma, respectively. The attachment loss (AL) were measured. Periodontitis was defined according to the percentage of surfaces which exceeded 3 mm AL [healthy: 0-7.7%, mild: 7.8-28.6%, moderate: 28.7-63.9%, severe: >63.9%]. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using logistic regression.

RESULTS

After adjustment for confounding factors these analyses revealed inverse associations between periodontitis and hayfever as well as periodontitis and HDM allergy. For increasing AL, a trend of decreasing risk could be observed for hayfever (healthy: reference; mild AL: OR 0.87 [95%-CI 0.6-1.2]; moderate AL: OR 0.80 [95% CI 0.6-1.2]; server AL: OR 0.53 [95% CI 0.3-0.9]; P(trend)=0.01) and for HDM allergy (healthy: reference; mild AL: OR 0.80 [95% CI 0.5-1.3]; moderate AL: OR 0.64 [95% CI 0.3-1.2]; server AL: OR 0.39 [95% CI 0.2-0.9]; P(trend)=0.02). Furthermore, for asthma were observed a slightly inverse association in the full-adjusted model (healthy: reference; mild AL: OR 1.10 [95% CI 0.6-2.0]; moderate AL: OR 0.96 [95% CI 0.5-1.8]; server AL: OR 0.48 [95% CI 0.2-1.0]; P(trend)=0.11).

CONCLUSION

There is an inverse association between periodontitis and respiratory allergies. Our results might support the hygiene hypothesis.