Human oral, gut, and plaque microbiota in patients with atherosclerosis

Abstract

Periodontal disease has been associated with atherosclerosis, suggesting that bacteria from the oral cavity may contribute to the development of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. Furthermore, the gut microbiota may affect obesity, which is associated with atherosclerosis. Using qPCR, we show that bacterial DNA was present in the atherosclerotic plaque and that the amount of DNA correlated with the amount of leukocytes in the atherosclerotic plaque. To investigate the microbial composition of atherosclerotic plaques and test the hypothesis that the oral or gut microbiota may contribute to atherosclerosis in humans, we used 454 pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA genes to survey the bacterial diversity of atherosclerotic plaque, oral, and gut samples of 15 patients with atherosclerosis, and oral and gut samples of healthy controls. We identified Chryseomonas in all atherosclerotic plaque samples, and Veillonella and Streptococcus in the majority. Interestingly, the combined abundances of Veillonella and Streptococcus in atherosclerotic plaques correlated with their abundance in the oral cavity. Moreover, several additional bacterial phylotypes were common to the atherosclerotic plaque and oral or gut samples within the same individual. Interestingly, several bacterial taxa in the oral cavity and the gut correlated with plasma cholesterol levels. Taken together, our findings suggest that bacteria from the oral cavity, and perhaps even the gut, may correlate with disease markers of atherosclerosis.

Defining the gut microbiota in individuals with periodontal diseases: an exploratory study

“…Considering the two major phyla commonly observed in the human gut microbiota, there was a tendency of Bacteroidetes to decrease and Firmicutes to increase with disease severity. In accordance with these data, a high Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio in the gut microbiome has been reported in many other systemic inflammatory conditions [52,57]. Other investigations, however, have either reported a significant decrease in this ratio [45,46,58] or no changes at all [59] in systemic inflammatory conditions.…”

“…Along with our line of thought, some studies have addressed the possible association between periodontal disease/oral pathogens and the gut microbiota [45,46,52]. Arimatsu et al [45] and Nakajima et al [46] tested the direct impact of P. gingivalis on the gut microbiota through oral administration of high doses of this pathogen in mice.…”

“…OT930) were significantly more predominant in diseased individuals compared to PH. Many of these microorganisms are associated with caries, periodontal and endodontic infections [69–72], but they have also been isolated from extra-oral infections or systemic conditions [52–54,73–75]. In contrast, S. australis and G. adiacens have been related to periodontal health [69,70].…”

Le microbiote intestinal à l’origine de nouvelles perspectives thérapeutiques pour les maladies métaboliques ?

“…Ainsi, une relation de causalité est le récepteur Olfr78 (olfactory receptor 78) des cellules spécialisées du rein [36]. Leur rôle sur le développement de l'athérosclérose a été aussi montré, car des bactéries issues du parodonte sont retrouvées dans la plaque d'athérome [9,37]. Ces bactéries sont particulièrement inflammatoires et semblent également interférer avec le métabolisme des lipides [37], notamment via les acides biliaires nécessaires à l'absorption des graisses [38].…”

“…Leur rôle sur le développement de l'athérosclérose a été aussi montré, car des bactéries issues du parodonte sont retrouvées dans la plaque d'athérome [9,37]. Ces bactéries sont particulièrement inflammatoires et semblent également interférer avec le métabolisme des lipides [37], notamment via les acides biliaires nécessaires à l'absorption des graisses [38]. Le microbiote, dans sa fonction antigénique, contrôle également la maturation du système immunitaire et joue à ce titre un rôle important dans le diabète auto-immun de type 1 [39] avec un effet régulateur des oestrogènes sur ces phénomènes [40].…”