Periodontal pathogens invade gingiva and aortic adventitia and elicit inflammasome activation in αvβ6 integrin-deficient mice (original) (raw)

The American Heart Association supports an association between periodontal diseases and atherosclerosis but not a causal association. This study explores the use of the integrin β6(-/-) mouse to study the causality. We investigated the ability of a polymicrobial consortium of Porphyromonas gingivalis, Treponema denticola, Tannerella forsythia and Fusobacterium nucleatum to colonize the periodontium and induce local and systemic inflammatory responses. Polymicrobial-infected Itgβ6(-/-) mice demonstrate higher susceptibility to gingival colonization/infection with severe gingival inflammation, apical migration of junctional epithelium, periodontal pocket formation, alveolar bone resorption, osteoclast activation, bacterial invasion of gingiva, a greater propensity for the bacteria to disseminate hematogenously, and a strong splenic T cell cytokine response. Atherosclerosis risk factors including serum nitric oxide, oxidized low-density lipoprotein, serum amyloid A, and lipid peroxidat...