Porphyromonas gingivalis

Periodontal Disease Bacteria Tied to Alzheimer’s Disease

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An interesting article titled “Alzheimer’s Disease-Like Neurodegeneration in Porphyromonas gingivalis Infected Neurons with Persistent Expression of Active Gingipains” appears in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease written by Ursula Haditsch et al. (no. 75, pp. 1361–1376, 2020). The article seeks to explore the connections between Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis), the main pathogen that causes chronic periodontitis, and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In the article, the researchers sought to show that intraneuronal P. gingivalis and gingipain expression in vitro after infecting neurons derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC). The researchers looked at the effect of the bacteria on the neurons at 24, 48, and 72 hours. The researchers used transmission electron microscopy, confocal microscopy, and bacterial colony to cause infection. They monitored gingipain expression by immunofluorescence and RT-qPCR, and protease activity with activity-based probes. The researchers used immunofluorescence, western blot, and ELISA to … Read more

Gum Disease Bacteria may Facilitate Rheumatoid Arthritis

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As stated over on the risks of keeping wisdom teeth page, gum disease (periodontal disease) has been shown to have associations with many different systemic diseases. One such systemic disease is rheumatoid arthritis (RA). So far, any mechanism has remained elusive. In a recent study appearing in PLoS Pathogens, researchers at the University of Louisville School of Dentistry Oral Health and Systemic Diseases and other researchers from the European Union’s Gums and Joints project have uncovered how the bacteria responsible for periodontal disease known as Porphyromonas gingivalis effects rheumatoid arthritis. The researchers showed that this bacteria leads to faster progression, greater severity and earlier onset of RA and can cause bone and cartilage destruction. The researchers found the bacteria produces a unique enzyme, peptidylarginine deiminanse (PAD), which enhances collagen-induced arthritis (CIA), which is an arthritis produced in the lab designed … Read more