Exploring salivary microbiota in AIDS patients with different periodontal statuses using 454 GS-FLX Titanium pyrosequencing

Abstract

Patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) are at high risk of opportunistic infections. Oral manifestations have been associated with the level of immunosuppression, these include periodontal diseases, and understanding the microbial populations in the oral cavity is crucial for clinical management. The aim of this study was to examine the salivary bacterial diversity in patients newly admitted to the AIDS ward of the Public Health Clinical Center (China). Saliva samples were collected from 15 patients with AIDS who were randomly recruited between December 2013 and March 2014. Extracted DNA was used as template to amplify bacterial 16S rRNA. Sequencing of the amplicon library was performed using a 454 GS-FLX Titanium sequencing platform. Reads were optimized and clustered into operational taxonomic units for further analysis. A total of 10 bacterial phyla (106 genera) were detected. Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, and Proteobacteria were preponderant in the salivary microbiota in AIDS patients. The pathogen, Capnocytophaga sp., and others not considered pathogenic such as Neisseria elongata, Streptococcus mitis, and Mycoplasma salivarium but which may be opportunistic infective agents were detected. Dialister pneumosintes, Eubacterium infirmum, Rothia mucilaginosa, and Treponema parvum were preponderant in AIDS patients with periodontitis. Patients with necrotic periodontitis had a distinct salivary bacterial profile from those with chronic periodontitis. This is the first study using advanced sequencing techniques focused on hospitalized AIDS patients showing the diversity of their salivary microbiota.

Oral microbiome in HIV-associated periodontitis

“…[43] The role of oral Neisseria genus in HIV infection has attracted limited attention; the few published studies using distinct sampling techniques had contradictory results. Recently, N. elongata was found to be enriched in the salivary microbiome of AIDS patients, [18] but minor nonsignificant changes in this genera were found between HIV-positive participants before and after commencing ART and when compared to seronegative participants in another study. [19] In addition, colonization of N flavescens was lower in the lingual microbiome of HIV-positive patients receiving ART than in HIV-negative controls.…”

“…[17] In comparison, 15 subjects with AIDS attending HIV clinics in China showed significant increases in several bacteria, and a distinct salivary bacterial profile between necrotic and chronic PD. [18] Using a microbial microarray, there were significant differences in the salivary bacterial composition between HIV-positive subjects before and after ART initiation and between them and HIV-negative adults. [19] Moreover, an independent study revealed increased diversity in subgingival biofilms of HIV+ individuals within a Brazilian cohort of 32 subjects with PD.…”

Oral microbiome and history of smoking and colorectal cancer

“…However, Rothia has recently been recognized as an opportunistic pathogen causing a number of diseases in immunocompromised hosts [42] and has been associated with periodontitis in AIDS patients. [43] Although our cases did not undergo chemotherapy, individuals who develop or developed cancer may suffer underlying suboptimal immune function.…”

Rothia mucilaginosa Bacteremia Associated with HIV and Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma: A Case Report and Brief Review of Literature

“…Factors contributing to the risk for invasive disease include hematologic malignancy with severe neutropenia, diabetes, alcoholism, chronic liver disease, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Rothia has been found to be a more prevalent organism in the oral flora of patients with HIV compared with oral flora of non-HIV infected hosts where Rothia comprises a very small proportion of the overall commensal oral organisms [3].…”