Detection of Virus Herpes Simplex Type 1 in Patients with Chronic Periodontal Disease

Abstract

BACKGROUND:Periodontal disease is an inflammatory-destructive condition of the supporting tissues of the teeth. Microorganisms found in the dental plaque were considered to be the primary local etiologic factor responsible for the periodontal destruction. It is also evident that herpes simplex viruses may have an impact in the etiopathogenesis of periodontal disease.AIM:This study has been made with the aim to analyse the prevalence of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) in the dental plaque (supra- and subgingival) of patients with the chronic periodontal disease.MATERIAL AND METHODS:The study comprised a total of 89 patients with chronic periodontal disease divided into two groups (patients with moderate and severe periodontitis). Supragingival dental plaque samples were taken with sterile cotton (supragingival), and subgingival dental plaque samples were taken with paper absorbents. Samples were subjected to extraction of DNA and further analysis with multiplex PCR for the presence of herpes viral DNA.RESULTS:HSV-1 virus was detected In 24.7% of all patients included in the study. HSV-1 was detected in 22.2% of patients with the moderate stage of the disease, of which in all (100%) in the supragingival plaque samples and only 16.7% in subgingival plaque samples. In two patients HSV-1 was concomitantly detected in supra and subgingival plaque samples. In patients with advanced stage of the disease, the HSV-1 virus was detected in 28.6% patients. In two of the patients, HSV-1 was concomitantly detected in supra and subgingival plaque samples. Statistically, a significant difference was found in HSV-1 positive patients with a moderate stage of disease, between the presence of the virus in subgingival (100%) and subgingival (16.7%) dental plaque samples, p < 0.05.CONCLUSION:Herpes simplex viruses type 1 are present in supragingival and subgingival dental plaque.

Association between chronic periodontitis and herpes viruses: A review of the literature.

“…These findings are consistent with those of Imbronito et al, 24 suggesting that CMV and Tannerella forsythia coinfection is more prevalent in patients with chronic periodontitis than in periodontally healthy individuals. [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27] Regarding HSV, Kazi et al,12 detected the presence of HSV-1 and HSV-2 in patients with severe chronic periodontitis, reporting a prevalence of HSV-1 in 52% of the cases, and HSV-2 in 56%. In this review, HSV was the virus least studied in the articles, being found only in 10 publications, although, paradoxically, it has a prevalence of 40%.…”

“…Regarding CMV, a number of different studies support the presence and role of this virus in periodontal disease. 11,25 It infects different cell types and can undergo latency in the progenitor cells of macrophages, monocytes and Tannerella lymphocytes. 11,16 This virus shows a marked tropism for cells of the immune system and interferes with the innate, adaptive cellular and humoral immune response through the activation and silencing of natural killer cells (NK), decreasing and altering the presentation of MHC I and II complex antigens, thus interfering with apoptosis.…”

“…Various authors point out that these viruses have a direct effect on fibroblasts, keratinocytes, and inflammatory cells. 12,22,24,25 It is suggested that as a result of the replication of lymphocytes, PMNs, and macrophages, viruses can adjust themselves to the defense mechanisms of the immune system and influence the host response. Likewise, they could reduce the capacity of periodontal tissues by altering structural cells or defensive cells of the periodontium.…”

Ancient herpes simplex 1 genomes reveal recent viral structure in Eurasia

“…Ancient DNA (aDNA) has become an increasingly powerful tool for studying past infections, as massive parallel sequencing (NGS) has allowed for DNA libraries extracted from skeletal samples to be screened for thousands of microbial species (reviewed in Syprou et al 2019 30 ), shedding light on the evolutionary history and phylogeography of past infections. HSV-1 DNA is detectable in blood during a primary infection, but not during reactivation from latency 31 ; however, herpesvirus DNA and microRNA from non-primary infections have been recovered from the teeth 32 and subgingival plaque [33][34][35] of living individuals. HSV-1 DNA has also been recovered from the trigeminal ganglia of cadavers 12 indicating that it can reactivate peri-or post-mortem.…”

“…HSV-1 has been found at higher prevalence in cases of chronic and aggressive periodontitis 34,35,38 , though the role in pathogenesis is inconclusive 38 . Both EDI111 and JDS005 have dental pathology consistent with periodontal disease (Supplementary Note 1).…”