Multispecies biofilms and host responses: “Discriminating the Trees from the Forest”

Abstract

Periodontal diseases reflect a tissue destructive process of the hard and soft tissues of the periodontium that are initiated by the accumulation of multispecies bacterial biofilms in the subgingival sulcus. This accumulation, in both quantity and quality of bacteria, results in a chronic immunoinflammatory response of the host to control this noxious challenge, leading to collateral damage of the tissues. As knowledge of the characteristics of the host-bacterial interactions in the oral cavity has expanded, new knowledge has become available on the complexity of the microbial challenge and the repertoire of host responses to this challenge. Recent results from the Human Microbiome Project continue to extend the array of taxa, genera, and species of bacteria that inhabit the multiple niches in the oral cavity; however, there is rather sparse information regarding variations in how host cells discriminate commensal from pathogenic species, as well as how the host response is affected by the 3-dimensional architecture and interbacterial interactions that occur in the oral biofilms. This review provides some insights into thes- processes by including existing literature on the biology of nonoral bacterial biofilms, and the more recent literature just beginning to document how the oral cavity responds to multispecies biofilms.

Relationship between expression of human gingival beta‐defensins and levels of periodontopathogens in subgingival plaque

“…The balance between bacteria and the host response, such as the secretion and antimicrobial activity of hBDs, may be very important in the development of periodontal disease . This relationship has been investigated in human cultured cells and different models provide only limited biological information about human host reactions against bacterial attack.…”

Microbiota and their role in the pathogenesis of oral mucositis

“…Chronic infections such as endocarditis, dental caries, middle ear infections, osteomyelitis are usually caused by biofilm communities and are often accompanied by sustained host hyperinflammation (Peyyala and Ebersole, 2013). It is accounted that most oral infections are caused by consortia of microbiota in a biofilm rather than by a single pathogenic species, so the biomedical significance of biofilms is substantial (Jenkinson and Lamont, 2005;Dewhirst et al, 2010).…”

Environmental Stimuli Shape Biofilm Formation and the Virulence of Periodontal Pathogens

“…Tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), IL-6 and IL-8 are cytokines commonly released by epithelial cells after bacterial infection [42–45]. Recent studies suggest that the gingival cell response differs when infected with oral biofilm [46] or with multispecies biofilms ([47]; reviewed in [48]) as compared with planktonic bacterial infection.…”