Molecular analysis shows the presence of periodontal bacterial DNA in atherosclerotic plaques from patients with coronary artery disease.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Cross-sectional observational study analyzing tissue samples from a single patient cohort without a non-atherosclerotic control group.
PubMed 33865522 · doi:10.1016/j.ihj.2021.01.011
What was done
Nested PCR was used to test for DNA from three periodontal pathogens (Porphyromonas gingivalis, Tannerella forsythia, and Treponema denticola) in subgingival and atheromatous plaque samples collected from 80 patients scheduled for coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) or angioplasty.
What was found
Pathogen DNA was detected in atherosclerotic plaque samples at the following frequencies: Tannerella forsythia in 12.5%, Porphyromonas gingivalis in 10%, and Treponema denticola in 1.3%. Patients whose atherosclerotic plaques tested positive for one or more pathogens all had chronic periodontitis.
Why it matters
This study provides molecular evidence that specific oral periodontal pathogen DNA can be found directly within coronary atheromatous plaques, supporting the plausibility of oral-vascular bacterial links.
Limits
The sample size is relatively small (n = 80), and the abstract does not report a non-atherosclerotic control group. Detection of bacterial DNA via PCR does not establish viability or active infection, cannot prove causation in plaque development, and subgingival pathogen percentages are not reported in the abstract.
Cited by
- supports Porphyromonas gingivalis has been detected in amyloid-beta plaques in the brain and in arterial plaque in the heart.