Microbiological and molecular profile of furcation defects in a population with untreated periodontitis

Pasquale Santamaria, Yi Jin, Mandeep Ghuman, Saeed Shoaie, David Spratt, Giuseppe Troiano, Luigi Nibali*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

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Abstract

Aim: To describe the microbiological composition of subgingival dental plaque and molecular profile of gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) of periodontal furcation-involved defects. Materials and Methods: Fifty-seven participants with periodontitis contributed with a degree II–III furcation involvement (FI), a non-furcation (NF) periodontal defect and a periodontally healthy site (HS). Subgingival plaque was analysed by sequencing the V3–V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene, and a multiplex bead immunoassay was carried out to estimate the GCF levels of 18 GCF biomarkers. Aiming to explore inherent patterns and the intrinsic structure of data, an AI-clustering method was also applied. Results: In total, 171 subgingival plaque and 84 GCF samples were analysed. Four microbiome clusters were identified and associated with FI, NF and HS. A reduced aerobic microbiota (p =.01) was detected in FI compared with NF; IL-6, MMP-3, MMP-8, BMP-2, SOST, EGF and TIMP-1 levels were increased in the GCF of FI compared with NF. Conclusions: This is the first study to profile periodontal furcation defects from a microbiological and inflammatory standpoint using conventional and AI-based analyses. A reduced aerobic microbial biofilm and an increase of several inflammatory, connective tissue degradation and repair markers were detected compared with other periodontal defects.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1421-1432
Number of pages12
JournalJournal of Clinical Periodontology
Volume51
Issue number11
Early online date7 Aug 2024
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2024

Keywords

  • dental plaque
  • gingival crevicular fluid
  • microbiology
  • periodontal bone loss
  • periodontitis

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