Porphyromonas gingivalis in Alzheimer’s disease brains: Evidence for disease causation and treatment

Stumbled upon this bit of tid this morning. Very interesting. If true, a bioactive ceramic glass developed at UF and commercialized by a company once based in the UF Corporate Innovation park in Alachua may serve to reduce possibility of dementia.

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126...NXdexhJwZVmHVgoVQA_aem_Rzg4jG8QM-AQcrT7Vn5U-A


Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients exhibit neuroinflammation consistent with infection, including microglial activation, inflammasome activation, complement activation, and altered cytokine profiles (1, 2). Infectious agents have been found in the brain and postulated to be involved with AD, but robust evidence of causation has not been established (3). The recent characterization of amyloid-β (Aβ) as an antimicrobial peptide has renewed interest in identifying a possible infectious cause of AD (4–6).
Chronic periodontitis (CP) and infection with Porphyromonas gingivalis—a keystone pathogen in the development of CP (7)—have been identified as significant risk factors for developing Aβ plaques, dementia, and AD (8–12). A prospective observational study of AD patients with active CP reported a notable decline in cognition (Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale—Cognitive and Mini Mental State Examination scales) over a 6-month period compared to AD patients without active CP, raising questions about possible mechanisms underlying these findings (13). In Apoe−/− mice, oral infection with P. gingivalis, but not with two other oral bacteria, results in brain infection and activation of the complement pathway (14). In transgenic mice overexpressing mutated human amyloid precursor protein (hAPP-J20), oral infection with P. gingivalis impairs cognitive function, increases the deposition of AD-like plaques, and results in alveolar bone loss compared to control hAPP-J20 mice (15). P. gingivalis lipopolysaccharide has been detected in human AD brains (16), promoting the hypothesis that P. gingivalis infection of the brain plays a role in AD pathogenesis (17).
P. gingivalis is mainly found during gingival and periodontal infections; however, it can also be found at low levels in 25% of healthy individuals with no oral disease (18). Transient bacteremia of P. gingivaliscan occur during common activities such as brushing, flossing, and chewing, as well as during dental procedures (19), resulting in documented translocation to a variety of tissues including coronary arteries (20), placenta (21), and liver (22). A recent study found that 100% of patients with cardiovascular disease had P. gingivalis arterial colonization (23).

 

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