The diversity of periodontal spirochetes by 16S rRNA analysis

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the diversity of spirochetes in the subgingival pocket of multiple subjects with a range of periodontal conditions, including two healthy, one adult periodontitis, three acute necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis, eight refractory periodontitis, and one human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) periodontitis. The 16S rRNA genes of spirochetes in plaque were amplified by polymerase chain reaction using spirochete selective primers. Over 500 clones were sequenced and subjected to phylogenetic analysis. The sequences clustered into the 10 known cultivated Treponema species and into 47 as-yet-uncultivated Treponema species. Most of these Treponema species were identified from multiple clones and subjects. The human periodontal pocket harbors a highly diverse treponeme population. Of the cultivated species, Treponema denticola, Treponema maltophilum and Treponema sp. Smibert-3 were most commonly encountered in diseased subjects but rarely in healthy subjects. Molecular tools based on the sequence data from this study will allow determination of the prevalence of cultivable and uncultivable treponemes in oral diseases.

Treponemal glycoconjugate inhibits Toll‐like receptor ligand‐induced cell activation by blocking LPS‐binding protein and CD14 functions

“…Oral spirochetes, which generally belong to the genus Treponema, are found in subgingival plaque from patients with periodontal diseases [1,2] and have conventionally been classified into three morphogroups: small-, intermediate-, and large-sized. Treponema medium is an intermediate-sized treponeme [3] that has been found in increased numbers in subgingival plaque samples from deep periodontal pockets using real-time PCR assays [4].…”

Treponema parvum sp. nov., a small, glucoronic or galacturonic acid-dependent oral spirochaete from lesions of human periodontitis and acute necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis.

“…In a culture-independent epidemiological study a species-specific DNA probe did not detect T. pectinovorum in 53 deep periodontal pockets and samples from 44 control sites (Moter et al, 1998). Also, the 16S rRNA sequence library created from a single periodontitis plaque sample (Choi et al, 1994), or from several subjects with ANUG, periodontitis and refractory periodontitis (Dewhirst et al, 2000) did not contain T. pectinovorum. These apparently contradictory findings may be attributed to differences in patient populations and in methodology.…”

Structure of Factor H-binding Protein B (FhbB) of the Periopathogen, Treponema denticola

“…In the healthy subgingival crevice, they account for ϳ1% of the total bacteria (5). With the progression of periodontitis, the abundance of oral treponemes increases dramatically and can reach 40% of the total bacterial population (6,7). Disease severity correlates specifically with the outgrowth of Treponema denticola and other bacterial species of the red microbial complex (6,8).…”