Microbial characteristics of dental caries in HIV positive individuals

Abstract

BackgroundDental caries is a multifactorial disease that affects many people. Even though microorganisms play a crucial role in causing dental caries, diagnosis is routinely macroscopic. In order to improve early detection especially in HIV patients who are disproportionately affected, there is need to reconcile the macroscopic and microscopic characteristics of dental caries. Therefore, the aim of this study was to characterize the oral microbiota profile along the decayed, missing, filled teeth (DMFT) index using amplicon sequencing data.MethodsAmplicon sequencing of the V6-V8 region of the 16S rRNA gene was done on DNA recovered from whole unstimulated saliva of 59 HIV positive and 29 HIV negative individuals. The microbial structure, composition and co-occurrence networks were characterized using QIIME-2, Phyloseq, Microbiome-1.9.2 and Metacoder in R.ResultsWe characterized the oral microbiota into 2,093 operational taxonomic units (OTUs), 21 phyla and 239 genera from 2.6 million high quality sequence reads. While oral microbiota did not cluster participants into distinct groups that track with the DMFT index, we observed the following: (a) The proportion of accessory microbiota was highest in the high DMFT category while the core size (∼50% of richness) remained relatively stable across all categories. (b) The abundance of core genera such as Stomatobaculum, Peptostreptococcus and Campylobacter was high at onset of dental caries, (c) A general difference in oral microbial biomass. (d) The onset of dental caries (low DMFT) was associated with significantly lower oral microbial entropy.ConclusionsAlthough oral microbial shifts along the DMFT index were not distinct, we demonstrated the potential utility of microbiota dynamics to characterize oral disease. Therefore, we propose a microbial framework using the DMFT index to better understand dental caries among HIV positive people in resource limited settings.

Prevalence and associated factors of enamel developmental defects among Nigerian children with perinatal HIV exposure

“…Whether caries is a resulting comorbidity with living longer in PLWH on ART, is yet to be established. Salivary gland dysfunction [ 33 ], sugary formulations of pediatric ART syrups and suspensions [ 33 ], dysbiotic microbiota [ 28 , 34 , 35 ] and anomalies with tooth development [ 26 ] have been suggested as factors driving this increased risk in children. However, elucidating the strongest aetiologic factors driving caries susceptibility can guide and inform prevention programs, particularly as tooth development begins in-utero.…”

Comparative Analysis of Primers Used for 16S rRNA Gene Sequencing in Oral Microbiome Studies

“…Characterization of the human oral bacterial community is commonly performed via targeted amplification and sequencing of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene [ 26 , 27 ]. However, selecting appropriate PCR primers for DNA amplification is a critical step for 16S rRNA gene sequencing studies [ 6 ], and the suitability of numerous primers targeting different regions of the 16S rRNA [ 7 , 10 , 11 , 15 , 16 , 17 ] gene, have been investigated. In this study, we examined the performances of various primers targeting different 16S rRNA sites to detect and determine the abundances of microbes commonly found in oral microbiomes.…”

“…The selection of PCR primers for DNA amplification is a crucial preliminary step in 16S rRNA gene sequencing studies. Researchers have sequenced different regions or multiple regions of the 16S rRNA gene, including V1–V2 [ 7 , 8 ], V3 [ 9 ], V1–V3 [ 10 ], V3–V4 [ 11 ], V3–V5 [ 12 ], V4 [ 13 ], V5 [ 14 ], V4–V5 [ 15 ], V6–V8 [ 16 ], and V5–V7 [ 17 ], to investigate the structures of bacterial communities.…”

The epidemiology of antibiotic-resistant clinical pathogens in Uganda

“…Globally, ABR is estimated to cause 1.27 million deaths (4), with Sub-Saharan Africa experiencing an average of 27.3 deaths per 100,000 persons attributable to ABR, indicating a higher burden of disease in these regions (5). Vulnerable populations, including neonates, infants, and pregnant mothers, bear a disproportionate level of this burden (5)(6)(7). The emergence of ABR is strongly associated with the level of antibiotic exposure and worryingly, the use of antibiotics in both humans and animals has increased by 46% over the past two decades (8), with a projected 67% increase in animal antibiotic usage by 2030 due to rapid climate-driven environmental changes (9).…”