Bacteriome analysis of Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans-JP2 genotype-associated Grade C periodontitis in Moroccan adolescents

Vijaya Lakshmi Pavani Molli; Jamila Kissa; Divyashri Baraniya; Amina Gharibi; Tsute Chen; Nezar N Al-Hebshi; Jasim M Albandar

doi:10.3389/froh.2023.1288499

Bacteriome analysis of Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans-JP2 genotype-associated Grade C periodontitis in Moroccan adolescents

Front Oral Health. 2023 Nov 14:4:1288499. doi: 10.3389/froh.2023.1288499. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Vijaya Lakshmi Pavani Molli^#¹, Jamila Kissa², Divyashri Baraniya^#³, Amina Gharibi², Tsute Chen⁴, Nezar N Al-Hebshi³, Jasim M Albandar¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Periodontology and Oral Implantology, Maurice H. Kornberg School of Dentistry, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, United States.
² Department of Periodontology, Faculty of Dental Medicine, University of Hassan II, Casablanca, Morocco.
³ Oral Microbiome Research Laboratory, Maurice H. Kornberg School of Dentistry, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, United States.
⁴ Department of Microbiology, Forsyth Institute, Cambridge, MA, United States.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Background: Grade C (previously aggressive) periodontitis (GCP) in adolescents is prevalent in certain parts of Africa where it is associated with JP2 genotype, a highly virulent strain of Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans. The aim of this study was to characterize the subgingival bacteriome in Moroccan subjects with GCP positive to A. actinomycetemcomitans JP2 genotype.

Methods: Subgingival plaque samples were collected from shallow and deep pockets of 8 subjects with GCP (17.2 ± 1.5 years) and from gingival sulci of 13 controls with no periodontitis (14.6 ± 1.1 years). Identification and genotyping of A. actinomycetemcomitans was performed using PCR analysis of the ltx operon, while bacteriome profiling was done by 16S rRNA gene sequencing (V1-V3 region). Groups were compared in terms of microbial diversity, abundances, and dysbiosis.

Results: The shallow and deep pocket sites from GCP cases had a significantly altered microbial composition compared to controls. Species associated with health included Haemophilus parainfluenzae, Lautropia mirabilis, Streptococcus spp., Gemella spp., and Rothia spp. While known periodontal pathogens, including Porphyromonas gingivalis, Tannerella forsythia, Treponema spp. and Fretibacterium spp., were significantly enriched in GCP, non-conventional taxa, including Pseudomonas oral taxon C61 and Enterobacter cloacae were more abundant and showed stronger association with the disease. Less significant differences in abundances of individual taxa were observed between shallow and deep pockets. Overall dysbiosis measured in terms of Subgingival Microbial Dysbiosis Index (SMDI) differentiated between GCP and no-periodontitis with 95% accuracy.

Conclusions: The results suggest that several periodontal pathogens involved in the adult-type periodontitis also play a role in JP2 genotype-associated GCP. The potential role of non-conventional taxa in the pathogenesis of GCP warrants further investigation.

Keywords: biofilm; dysbiosis; high-throughput nucleotide sequencing; microbiota; periodontitis.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.