Existence of Helicobacter pylori with low virulence rate in dental plaque and gastric mucosa of patients with periodontal disease

Abstract

Objective: Helicobacter pylori is associated with gastric and peptic ulcer leading to gastric cancer progress. Gingival teeth grooves among patients with chronic periodontitis can act as reservoirs for H. pylori proliferation. The purpose of our study was assessment the association of H. pylori from dental plaques of patients with periodontitis with gastric colonization. Methods: Among patients with periodontitis admitted to dentistry centers, 250 dental plaque and 250 gastric biopsy samples were obtained during 2016–2019. After bacterial identification, virulence genes including cagA, cagT, cagE, vacA and hrgA were screened using PCR technique. Results: Fifty and 75 isolates were identified in periodontitis and biopsy specimens, respectively. In periodontitis strains, the rete of cagA, cagT, cagE, vacA and hrgA were as 18 (36%), 15 (30%), 14 (28%), 6 (12%) and 6 (12%), respectively. Among 75 biopsy strains, prevalence of cagA, cagT, cagE, vacA and hrgA were as 28 (34%), 24 (32%), 19 (25.3%), 11 (14.66%) and 7 (0.14%), respectively. There was higher rate of gastric ulcer among ages more than 45 years compared with age ranges 1–15 and 20–45 years (P < 0.01 and P = 0.004, respectively). No significant difference between men and women (35/75 vs. 40/75) was observed. Conclusion: Although the prevalence of virulence genes was low among H. pylori strains from dental plaques, a relatively high-density of H. pylori among both sources was considerable. Accordingly, H. pylori possibly spread from dental plaque into gastric mucosa. Furthermore, the possible role of dental plaques among patients with periodontitis as sources for peptic ulcer by pathogenic H. pylori needs more in-depth verifications.