Periodontitis salivary microbiota exacerbates nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in high-fat diet-induced obese mice

Min Wang; Lili Li; Jun Qian; Nannan Wang; Jun Bao; Jiangyue Lu; Faming Chen; Yanfen Li; Yangheng Zhang; Fuhua Yan

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2023.106346

Periodontitis salivary microbiota exacerbates nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in high-fat diet-induced obese mice

iScience. 2023 Mar 7;26(4):106346. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.106346. eCollection 2023 Apr 21.

Authors

Min Wang¹, Lili Li¹, Jun Qian¹, Nannan Wang¹, Jun Bao¹, Jiangyue Lu¹, Faming Chen², Yanfen Li¹, Yangheng Zhang¹, Fuhua Yan¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Periodontology, Nanjing Stomatological Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210008, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Military Stomatology & National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases & Shaanxi Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Department of Periodontology, School of Stomatology, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710032, China.

Abstract

Periodontitis may aggravate the development of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD); however, the precise mechanism is unknown. In this study, salivary microbiota collected from patients with periodontitis was transferred intragastrically to obese mice induced by high-fat diet. Microbiomics and metabolomics analysis were performed to assess the influence of periodontitis salivary microbiota on gut microbiome and liver metabolism. Periodontitis salivary microbiota altered gut microbiota composition and exacerbated intestinal barrier dysfunction in obese mice. Subsequently, the bacterial lipopolysaccharide transported to liver may activate the toll-like receptor 4 signaling and cause the release of pro-inflammatory factors. Moreover, the tryptophan-kynurenine-AhR signal axis was upregulated in liver, which may be related to aggravated hepatic steatosis and glucolipid metabolism dysregulation during NAFLD development. This study indicated that in the context of obesity, periodontitis salivary microbiota may aggravate the pathological progression of NAFLD, in which the tryptophan-AhR pathway may play a key role.

Keywords: Hepatology; Microbiome.