Effect of Porphyromonas gingivalis on Th17/Treg imbalance and vascular endothelial function in ApoE-/-mice
10.13591/j.cnki.kqyx.2025.10.001
- VernacularTitle:牙龈卟啉单胞菌对载脂蛋白E基因敲除小鼠Th17/Treg失衡及血管内皮功能的影响
- Author:
Xinyue WANG
1
;
Jie YANG
1
;
Ting HAO
1
;
Yu LIU
1
;
Wenlei WU
1
Author Information
1. 南京市口腔医院牙周病科,南京大学医学院附属口腔医院,南京大学口腔医学研究所,江苏南京(210008)
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Porphyromonas gingivalis;
atherosclerosis;
imbalance of Th17/Treg;
endothelial dysfunction;
oral bacterial dysbiosis
- From:
STOMATOLOGY
2025;45(10):721-730
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Objective To investigate the effect of Porphyromonas gingivalis(P.gingivalis)on Th17/Treg imbalance and vascular endothelial function in ApoE-/-mice.Methods Eight-week-old ApoE-/-mice were inoculated orally with P.gingivalis every other day and received high-fat diet for 8 weeks.The alveolar bone loss was assessed by Micro-CT and the oral microflora of mice was analyzed by 16S rRNA sequencing technology.HE staining and oil red O staining were used to detect plaque formation in ApoE-/-mice.The total cholesterol(TC),triglyceride(TG),low-density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C)and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol(HDL-C)levels of mice were detected by biochemical detection technology.Real-time quantitative PCR(qRT-PCR)and immunohistochemistry(IHC)were used to detect the indicators of endothelial injury in the model aortic plaques,including vascular cell adhesion molecule(VCAM),intercellular adhesion molecule(ICAM),matrix metallopeptidase(MMP)-2 and MMP-9.The relative proportions of Th17 and Treg in aortic plaque and spleen were detected by IHC,qRT-PCR and flow cytometry,including interleukin-17(IL-17),retinoic acid related orphan receptor γt(RORγt)and forkhead box P3(Foxp3).Results In ApoE-/-mice infected with P.gingivalis,the severity of alveolar bone loss was increased(P＜0.01);the diversity of oral microbiota was decreased(P＜0.05),and the composition of oral microbiota was changed.The proportion of atherosclerotic plaque area was increased(P＜0.01),paralleled by elevated serum levels of TG,TC and LDL-C(P＜0.05),alongside a significant de-crease in HDL-C(P＜0.01).Aortic plaques exhibited upregulated protein expression of VCAM and ICAM as well as heightened mRNA levels of ICAM,VCAM,MMP-2 and MMP-9(P＜0.05).The levels of IL-17 related protein and RORγt transcriptional activity in aortic plaque were increased(P＜0.01),while the levels of Foxp3 related protein and gene were decreased(P＜0.01).The ratio of Th17/Treg cells in spleen was imbalanced(P＜0.05).Conclusion Periodontitis caused by the imbalance of the oral flora of ApoE-/-mice induced by P.gingivalis can cause Th17/Treg imbalance in aortic plaque and exacerbate the endothelial dysfunction during ather-osclerosis.
