Interplay of Microbiota and Citrullination in the Immunopathogenesis of Rheumatoid Arthritis

Microbiota is a balanced ecosystem that has important functions to the host health including development, defense, digestion, and absorption of dietary fibers and minerals, vitamin synthesizes, protection, and training the host immune system. On the other hand, its dysbiosis is linked to many human diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The RA is an inflammatory autoimmune disorder caused by genetic and environmental factors; microbiota may be considered as a risk environmental factor for it. Citrullination is a post-translation modification (PMT) that converts the amino acid arginine to amino acid citrulline in certain proteins. These citrullinated proteins are recognized as a foreign antigen by the immune system resulting in the upregulation of inflammatory action such as in RA. The current work highlights the effect of both gut and oral microbiota dysbiosis on the development of RA, as well as discusses how the alteration in microbiota composition leads to the overgrowth of some bacterial species that entangled in RA pathogenicity. The evidence suggested that some oral and gut microbial species such as Porphyromonas gingivalis and Prevotella copri, respectively, contribute to RA pathogenesis. During dysbiosis, these bacteria can mediate the citrullination of either human or bacteria proteins to trigger an immune response that leads to the generation of autoantibodies.

Predictors of periodontal disease among rural Indian type 2 diabetic population

BACKGROUND

Periodontal Disease (PD) is associated with complications of diabetes. Control of the PD reduces glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) level. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship of PD with duration, severity of diabetes and eGFR.

MATERIAL AND METHOD

A Prospective observational study conducted at Sidhi Vinayaka Hospitals (SVH) Sangareddy during the period of January 2014 to December 2019. Total 1436 patients with a definite diagnosis of type 2 diabetes (T2DM), between the ages of 45-60 years were included. They were classified according to CPITN score for PD and compared against the variables.

RESULTS

A total of 1436 consecutive outpatients attending to SVH were included. Among them 662 (46.1%) were males and 774(53.9%) were females. The mean age of the patients was 48.3(SD ± 10.62) and mean duration of diabetes was 2.9(SD ± 4.18). The mean fasting blood glucose was 198.5(SD ± 85), mean post prandial blood glucose was 277.2 (SD ± 107.7) and mean HBA1c was 9.98% (SD ± 2.6). Among the study group 1198 (83.4%) had none/mild (Grade I) PD, 192(13.4%) had moderate/severe (Grade II) PD and 46(3.2%) were completely edentulous (Grade III).

CONCLUSION

There is a linear correlation between PD and age of patient, duration of diabetes, eGFR and level of glycemic status among rural population with T2DM.

Risk of colorectal cancer in patients with periodontal disease severity: a nationwide, population-based cohort study

BACKGROUND

Periodontal disease (PD) and colorectal cancer (CRC) were associated with chronic inflammation. This retrospective cohort study examined the association between PD severity and CRC in a large-scale, population-based Chinese cohort.

METHODS

A total of approximately 106,487 individuals with newly diagnosed PD and 106,487 age-matched and sex-matched patients without PD from 2000 to 2002 were identified from Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD).

RESULTS

The Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that the cumulative incidence of CRC was significantly higher in patients with PD than in those without PD (log-rank test, P < 0.001). After adjustment for age, sex, and comorbidities, patients with PD were associated with a significantly higher risk of CRC compared with those without PD (adjusted HR = 1.64, 95% CI = 1.50-1.80). Further, the risk of CRC appeared to increase with increasing frequency of PD medical visits [adjusted HR (95% CI) was 1.78 (1.58-2.02) and 1.53 (1.35-1.74) for annual visits > 10 and < 4, respectively].

CONCLUSION

Based on our study, PD severity was associated with an increase in the risk of CRC. Further mechanistic research is needed.