Effects of periodontitis on the colon microbiome

At the 47th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Dental Research (AADR), held in conjunction with the 42nd Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association for Dental Research (CADR), Miriam Walker, Meharry Medical College School of Dentistry, Nashville, Tenn., presented a poster titled "Effects of Periodontitis on the Colon Microbiome." The AADR/CADR Annual Meeting is in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., USA from March 21-24, 2018.

Severe gum disease is among the most prevalent chronic infection in particular in African-American populations and is associated with complex microbial infection in the sub-gingival cavity. The polybacterial nature of periodontal disease is a risk factor for several various systemic diseases.

"We have shown that the synthesis of nitric oxide (NO), known to regulate gut motility functions and NRF2, a transcriptional factor known to regulate several antioxidant genes, mediated Phase II protein expression have been altered in colon specimens of polybacterialinfected ApoE-/-mice," said Miriam Walker. "The gut microbiome plays a vital role in intestinal motility, however it is unclear whether oral polybacterial DNA is present in colon and how it alters the microbiome and NO synthesis in this mice animal model."

The goal of this study was to determine whether oral pathogens are found in the colon and to investigate how these pathogens modulate the microbiome of the colon. Colon specimens were obtained from 16 weeks polymicrobial-infected and healthy mice. Microbial DNA from colon specimens were isolated and analyzed by use of 454 pyrosequencing of 16S RNA genes.

"Through BLAST and RDP analysis, several microbiome were found in the colon that belongs to oral and colon microbiome," said Walker. "Our studies are the first to demonstrate that polybacterial infection can alter colon microbial environment and this may impact on colon motility."

Provided by International & American Associations for Dental Research