About Dental Plaque and Porphyromonas Gingivalis - a Common Biofilm Former and Dangerous Periodontopathogen Species
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: The aim of this paper was to underline the great importance of maintaining an eubiotic state of normal microbiota, including the oral one, and to bring into discussion aspects regarding a common dental biofilm pathobiont, respectively Porphyromosa gingivalis that is also an extremely aggressive periodontopathogenic species, with local, but also remote effects. Dental plaque is a model of polymicrobial biofilm with cyclic evolution, intensively studied due to its accessible sampling, but especially to its implication in local (cariogenesis, gingivitis, periodontitis) and other remote conditions. Oral microbiome is a crucial factor for maintaining local and systemic host health, depending on its status: eubiosis vs. dysbiosis status. In a certain favorable niche provided by the host environment (improper local hygiene and/or genetic susceptibility), the eubiosis status is broken and allows the periodontopathogens to establish in this altered niche. These late colonizers become aggressive, inactivating innate immune effectors, modulating adaptive immune response, and promoting an inflammatory response. Dysbiosis and inflammation coevolve, and the changed environmental factors select a pathobiotic community. Among pathobionts, the anaerobic Gram negative species Porphyromonas gingivalis has attracted the attention of researchers by its high virulence (e.g. gingipains - specific proteases) and capacity to disseminate, as entire cells or outer membrane vesicles (OMVs), a feature of bacterial chronic infections; these floatting OMVs are not destroyed by antimicrobials and continue to stimulate the local and systemic inflammation, delivering soluble virulence factors. Considering the chronic and distructive evolution, but also the remote complications of periodontal disease, many teams are involved in research of this multifactorial and complex infectious and inflammatory disease, aiming to discover innovative, combined, and more efficient strategies than existing ones.
Author: Veronica Lazăr
Institution: University of Bucharest
Language: English
Subfield: Periodontics
Field: Dentistry
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4410310905