Identification of periodontal bacteria from carotid artery plaque in chronic periodontitis patients

BackgroundA lot of epidemiological studies have demonstrated the relationship between periodontal disease (PD) and carotid artery stenosis (CAS). One of the mechanisms behind this link is the migration of periodontopathic bacteria to arteriosclerotic regions. Although the link has been studied, it is controversial whether periodontopathic bacteria can be detected in the carotid arteries. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of periodontopathic bacteria in carotid artery plaque.MethodsCarotid artery plaques were obtained from 16 patients. Genomic DNA was extracted and detection of periodontopathic bacteria was carried out by polymerase chain reaction using primers for Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (A.a.), Porphyromonas gingivalis (P.g.), Tannerella forsythensis (T.f.), Treponema denticola (T.d.) and Prevotella intermedia (P.i.). Progression of periodontal disease was determined by measuring the level of bone resorption based on panoramic X-ray.ResultsPeriodontopathic bacterial DNA was detected in 13 of the 16 patients (81.3%), with P.g. being the most frequently detected bacterial strain at 62.5%, followed by T.f. at 43.8% and A.a. at 25%. Conversely, T.d. and P.i. were not detected in the carotid plaque samples. The number of detected periodontal bacteria species from carotid samples was larger in moderate-to-severe periodontal patients than in mild periodontitis patients.ConclusionThe study findings indicate that periodontopathic bacterial DNA can be detected in carotid artery plaque. The finding that the number of detected bacterial species was larger in moderate-to-severe periodontal patients infers that periodontopathic bacteria migrate to the cervical region after proliferating in the mouth due to progression of periodontal disease.