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Comparative Study
. 2014 Oct 16;9(10):e109761.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0109761. eCollection 2014.

Microbial diversity similarities in periodontal pockets and atheromatous plaques of cardiovascular disease patients

Wagner Serra e Silva Filho  1 , Renato C V Casarin  2 , Eduardo L Nicolela Jr  3 , Humberto M Passos  3 , Antônio W Sallum  4 , Reginaldo B Gonçalves  5
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Microbial diversity similarities in periodontal pockets and atheromatous plaques of cardiovascular disease patients

Wagner Serra e Silva Filho et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Background and objective: The immune and infectious alterations occurring in periodontitis have been shown to alter the development and severity of cardiovascular disease. One of these relationships is the translocation of oral bacteria to atheroma plaques, thereby promoting plaque development. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess, by 16s cloning and sequencing, the microbial diversity of the subgingival environment and atheroma plaques of patients concomitantly suffering from periodontitis and obstructive coronary artery atherosclerosis (OCAA).

Methods: Subgingival biofilm and coronary balloons used in percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty were collected from 18 subjects presenting with generalized moderate to severe periodontitis and OCAA. DNA was extracted and the gene 16S was amplified, cloned and sequenced.

Results: Significant differences in microbial diversity were observed between both environments. While subgingival samples mostly contained the phylum Firmicutes, in coronary balloons, Proteobacteria (p<0.05) was predominant. In addition, the most commonly detected genera in coronary balloons were Acinetobacter, Alloprevotella, Pseudomonas, Enterobacter, Sphingomonas and Moraxella, while in subgingival samples Porphyromonas, Filifactor, Veillonella, Aggregatibacter and Treponema (p<0.05) were found. Interestingly, 17 identical phylotypes were found in atheroma and subgingival samples, indicating possible bacterial translocation between periodontal pockets and coronary arteries.

Conclusion: Periodontal pockets and atheromatous plaques of cardiovascular disease patients can present similarities in the microbial diversity.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Distribution of clones (% clones) by genus in periodontal pocket and coronary balloon samples.
*indicate statistically significant difference between periodontal pocket and coronary balloon (Chi-square test, p<0.05).
Figure 2
Figure 2. Phylotypes detected in the subgingival biofilm of periodontal pockets (right) and coronary balloons (left).
The phylotypes in the center are those detected in both samples within the same individual.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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