Gingipains from Porphyromonas gingivalis drive Alzheimer’s pathology and can be blocked with small-molecule inhibitors.

The pathogenesis of periodontitis involves a complex immune/inflammatory cascade that is initiated by the bacteria of the oral biofilm that forms naturally on the teeth. The susceptibility to periodontitis appears to be determined by the host response; specifically, the magnitude of the inflammatory response and the differential activation of immune pathways. The purpose of this review was to delineate our current knowledge of the host response in periodontitis. The role of innate immunity, the failure of acute inflammation to resolve (thus becoming chronic), the cytokine pathways that regulate the activation of acquired immunity and the cells and products of the immune system are considered. New information relating to regulation of both inflammation and the immune response will be reviewed in the context of susceptibility to, and perhaps control of, periodontitis.

Aim This study compared the subgingival microbiota of subjects with refractory periodontitis (RP) to those in subjects with treatable periodontitis (GR) or periodontal health (PH) using the Human Oral Microbe Identification Microarray (HOMIM). Methods At baseline, subgingival plaque samples were taken from 47 periodontitis and 20 PH individuals, and analyzed for the presence of 300 species by HOMIM. The periodontitis subjects were classified as RP (n=17) based on mean attachment loss (AL) and/or >3 sites with AL ≥2.5 mm after SRP, surgery and systemically administered amoxicillin and metronidazole or as GR (n=30) based on mean attachment gain and no sites with AL ≥2.5 mm after treatment. Significant differences in taxa among groups were sought using the Kruskal Wallis and Chi-square tests. Results More species were detected in diseased patients (GR or RP) than those without disease (PH). RP subjects were distinguished from GR and PH by a significantly high frequency of putative periodontal pathogens such as, Parvimonas micra, Campylobacter gracilis, Eubacterium nodatum, Selenomonas noxia, Tannerella forsythia, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Prevotella spp., Treponema spp., Eikenella corrodens, as well as “unusual” species (Pseudoramibacter alactolyticus, TM7 spp. oral taxon (OT) 346/356, Bacteroidetes spp. OT 272/274, Solobacterium moorei, Desulfobulbus sp. OT 041, Brevundimonas diminuta, Sphaerocytophaga sp. OT 337, Shuttleworthia satelles, Filifactor alocis, Dialister invisus/pneumosintes, Granulicatella adiacens, Mogibacterium tidmidum, Veillonella atypica, Mycoplasma salivarium, Synergistes sp. cluster II, Acidaminococcaceae [G-1] sp. OT 132/150/155/148/135) [p<0.05]. Species that were more prevalent in PH than in periodontitis patients included Actinomyces sp. OT 170, Actinomyces spp. cluster I, Capnocytophaga sputigena, Cardiobacterium hominis, Haemophilus parainfluenzae, Lautropia mirabilis, Propionibacterium propionicum, Rothia dentocariosa/mucilagenosa, Streptococcus sanguinis (p<0.05). Conclusion RP patients present a distinct microbial profile compared to patients in the GR and PH groups as determined by HOMIM.

Resolvin E1 (RvE1) is a potent proresolving mediator of inflammation derived from omega-3 eicosapentaenoic acid that acts locally to stop leukocyte recruitment and promote resolution. RvE1 displays potent counter-regulatory and tissue-protective actions in vitro and in vivo. Periodontal disease is a local inflammatory disease initiated by bacteria characterized by neutrophil-mediated tissue injury followed by development of a chronic immune lesion. In this study, we report the treatment of established periodontitis using RvE1 as a monotherapy in rabbits compared with structurally related lipids PGE2 and leukotriene B4. PGE2 and leukotriene B4 each enhanced development of periodontitis and worsened the severity of disease. Promotion of resolution of inflammation as a therapeutic target with RvE1 resulted in complete restoration of the local lesion, and reduction in the systemic inflammatory markers C-reactive protein and IL-1β. This report is the first to show that resolution of inflammation by a naturally occurring endogenous lipid mediator results in complete regeneration of pathologically lost tissues, including bone.

Periodontitis is a well-appreciated example of leukocyte-mediated bone loss and inflammation that has pathogenic features similar to those observed in other inflammatory diseases such as arthritis. Resolvins are a new family of bioactive products of omega-3 fatty acid transformation circuits initiated by aspirin treatment that counter proinflammatory signals. Because it is now increasingly apparent that local inflammation plays a critical role in many diseases, including cardiovascular disease, atherosclerosis, and asthma, experiments were undertaken to evaluate the actions of the newly described EPA-derived Resolvin E1 (RvE1) in regulation of neutrophil tissue destruction and resolution of inflammation. The actions of an aspirin-triggered lipoxin (LX) analog and RvE1 in a human disease, localized aggressive periodontitis (LAP), were determined. Results indicate that neutrophils from LAP are refractory to anti-inflammatory molecules of the LX series, whereas LAP neutrophils respond to RvE1. In addition, RvE1 specifically binds to human neutrophils at a site that is functionally distinct from the LX receptor. Consistent with these potent actions, topical application of RvE1 in rabbit periodontitis conferred dramatic protection against inflammation induced tissue and bone loss associated with periodontitis.