Periodontal microbiota and phospholipases: the Oral Infections and Vascular Disease Epidemiology Study (INVEST)

Atherosclerosis. 2015 Oct;242(2):418-23. doi: 10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2015.07.039. Epub 2015 Jul 22.

Abstract

Objective: Periodontal infections have been linked to cardiovascular disease, including atherosclerosis, and systemic inflammation has been proposed as a possible mediator. Secretory phospholipase A2 (s-PLA2) and Lipoprotein-associated PLA2 (Lp-PLA2) are inflammatory enzymes associated with atherosclerosis. No data are available on the association between oral microbiota and PLA2s. We studied whether a relationship exists between periodontal microbiota and the activities of these enzymes.

Methods: The Oral Infection and Vascular Disease Epidemiology Study (INVEST) collected subgingival biofilms and serum samples from 593 dentate men and women (age 68.7 ± 8.6 years). 4561 biofilm samples were collected in the two most posterior teeth of each quadrant (average 7/participant) for quantitative assessment of 11 bacterial species using DNA-DNA checkerboard hybridization. Mean concentration of s-PLA2 and activities of s-PLA2 and Lp-PLA2 were regressed on tertiles of etiologic dominance (ED). ED is defined as the level of presumed periodontopathic species/combined level of all eleven species measured, and represents the relative abundance of periodontopathic organisms. Analyses were adjusted for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, smoking, BMI, diabetes, LDL cholesterol and HDL cholesterol, and systolic blood pressure.

Results: Higher levels of s-PLA2 activity were observed across increasing tertiles of etiologic dominance (0.66 ± 0.04 nmol ml(-1) min(-1), 0.73 ± 0.04 nmol ml(-1) min(-1), 0.89 ± 0.04 nmol ml-1 min-1; p < 0.001), with also a trend of association between Lp-PLA2 activity and ED (p = 0.07), while s-PLA2 concentration was unrelated to ED.

Conclusion: Increasingly greater s-PLA2 activity at higher tertiles of etiologic dominance may provide a mechanistic explanatory link of the relationship between periodontal microbiota and vascular diseases. Additional studies investigating the role of s-PLA2 are needed.

Keywords: Atherosclerosis; Cardiovascular diseases; Periodontitis; Phospholipases.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • 1-Alkyl-2-acetylglycerophosphocholine Esterase / blood
  • 1-Alkyl-2-acetylglycerophosphocholine Esterase / metabolism
  • Aged
  • Biofilms
  • Dental Plaque / microbiology
  • Female
  • Gingiva / microbiology
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Microbiota*
  • Middle Aged
  • Periodontal Diseases / enzymology*
  • Periodontal Diseases / epidemiology
  • Periodontal Diseases / microbiology*
  • Phospholipases A2 / blood*
  • Phospholipases A2 / metabolism*
  • Prospective Studies

Substances

  • Phospholipases A2
  • 1-Alkyl-2-acetylglycerophosphocholine Esterase
  • PLA2G7 protein, human