<b><i>Porphyromonas gingivalis</i></b> Accelerates Neointimal Formation after Arterial Injury

Abstract

&lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;Background:&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt; Inflammation plays a key role in neointimal hyperplasia after an arterial injury. Chronic infectious disorders, such as periodontitis, are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases. However, the effects of a periodontal infection on vascular remodeling have not been examined. We assess the hypothesis that periodontal infection could promote neointimal formation after an arterial injury.&lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt; Methods:&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt; Mice were implanted with subcutaneous chambers (n = 41). Two weeks after implantation, the femoral arteries were injured, and &lt;i&gt;Porphyromonas gingivalis&lt;/i&gt; (n = 21) or phosphate-buffered saline (n = 20) was injected into the chamber. The murine femoral arteries were obtained for the histopathological analysis. The expression level of mRNA in the femoral arteries was analyzed using quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (n = 19–20). &lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;Results:&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt; The intima/media thickness ratio in the &lt;i&gt;P. gingivalis&lt;/i&gt; infected group was found to be significantly increased in comparison to the non-infected group. The expression of matrix metalloproteinase-2 mRNA was significantly increased in the &lt;i&gt;P. gingivalis&lt;/i&gt; infected group compared to the non-infected group. &lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;Conclusion:&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt; These findings demonstrate that &lt;i&gt;P. gingivalis&lt;/i&gt; injection can promote neointimal formation after an arterial injury. Periodontitis may be a critical factor in the development of restenosis after arterial intervention.

Toll-like receptor 4 signaling has a critical role in Porphyromonas gingivalis-accelerated neointimal formation after arterial injury in mice

“…36 We have shown that P. gingivalis infection increased the number of MCP-1 positive cells in the neointimal area in WT mice. 13 In this study, however, the P. gingivalis-infected TLR4KO mice significantly suppressed the number of MCP-1 positive cells in the neointimal area compared with the P. gingivalis-infected WT mice. TLR4 ligand stimulation induced MCP-1 production in murine macrophage-like cells.…”

“…22 Recently, we reported that P. gingivalis infection accelerated neointimal formation after arterial injury. 13 It has also been reported that Chlamydia pneumonia infection induced neointimal formation after arterial injury. 23 Inflammation after infection is now considered a factor that worsens cardiovascular disease.…”

“…9,10 Periodontal pathogens may have a role in the development and progression of atherosclerosis, leading to cardiovascular disease. 11,12 We previously showed that P. gingivalis infection induced neointimal hyperplasia after arterial injury 13 and that TLR2 deficiency suppressed the progression of the neointimal formation. 14 However, the role of TLR4 blockade in neointimal formation accelerated by P. gingivalis infection after wire injury remains to be elucidated.…”

Periodontal bacteria aggravate experimental autoimmune myocarditis in mice

“…We were focused on systemic inflammation in this study. The mouse subcutaneous chamber model is a model of local infection in a distant area, which was previously shown to mimic the sequence of localized inflammatory events observed in diseased human periodontal pockets (21,26). Moreover, it was said that assessment of host responses to localized infections can be performed quite easily with the use of subcutaneous chambers implanted in mice (16).…”

High Incidence of Periodontitis in Japanese Patients With Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm

“…1) Recently, we demonstrated that P. gingivalis deteriorated AAA [8][9][10] and wire-injury induced arteriosclerosis 14) in animal models. Furthermore, we demonstrated that A. actinomycetemcomitans aggravated ventricular remodeling after myocardial ischemia 15) and pressure overload-induced myocardial hypertrophy.…”