The blood pressure lowering effect of beetroot juice is impaired in periodontitis and recovered after periodontal treatment.

We have previously demonstrated that subgingival levels of nitrate-reducing bacteria, as well as the in vitro salivary nitrate reduction capacity (NRC), were diminished in periodontitis patients, increasing after periodontal treatment. However, it remains unclear if an impaired NRC in periodontitis can affect systemic health. To determine this, the effect of nitrate-rich beetroot juice (BRJ) on blood pressure was determined in 15 periodontitis patients before and 70 days after periodontal treatment (i.

Oral biofilm composition and phenotype in caries-active and caries-free children.

Introduction: During development of dental caries, oral biofilms undergo changes in microbial composition and phenotypical traits. The aim of this study was to compare the acid tolerance (AT) of plaque from two groups of children: one with severe caries (CA) and one with no caries experience (CF) and to correlate this to the microbial composition and metabolic profile of the biofilms.

Methods: Dental plaque samples from 20 children (2-5 years) in each group were studied.

Characterising the role of enolase in a stable Small Colony Variant of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from a diabetic foot infection patient with osteomyelitis.

The switch to alternate cell types by Staphylococcus aureus creates sub-populations even within an active population, that are highly resilient, tolerant to antibiotics and lack clinical symptoms of infection. These cells present a challenge for clinical treatment where even after initial intervention has seemingly cleared the infection, these alternate cell types persist within tissue to revert and cause disease. Small colony variants (SCV) are a cell type which facilitate persistent infection but clinically isolated SCVs are often unstable in laboratory conditions.

A disturbed metabolite-GPCR axis is associated with microbial dysbiosis in IBD patients: Potential role of GPR109A in macrophages.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the gastrointestinal tract characterized by disrupted immune function. Indeed, gut microbiota dysbiosis and metabolomic profile alterations, are hallmarks of IBD. In this scenario, metabolite-sensing G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs), involved in several biological processes, have emerged as pivotal players in the pathophysiology of IBD.

Periodontal treatment causes a longitudinal increase in nitrite-producing bacteria.

Background: The oral microbiome-dependent nitrate (NO )-nitrite (NO )-nitric oxide (NO) pathway may help regulate blood pressure. NO -producing bacteria in subgingival plaque are reduced in relative abundance in patients with untreated periodontitis compared with periodontally healthy patients. In periodontitis patients, the NO -producing bacteria increase several months after periodontal treatment.

Topical prebiotic nitrate: optimizing the 'hang-time', source and dose for specific oral or systemic effects.

In our opinion, the 'hang-time' of nitrate-containing products discussed in the letter by Green and Green is an interesting variable that should be considered when nitrate-based treatment or prevention strategies are designed. However, due to direct nitrate recycling after nitrate intake, products with a long 'hang-time' (e.g.

Salivary Proteins and Metabolites as Caries Biomarkers in Adolescents.

Introduction: The identification of salivary molecules that can be associated to dental caries could provide insights about caries risk and offer valuable information to develop caries prediction models. However, the search for a universal caries biomarker has proven elusive due to the multifactorial nature of this oral disease. We have therefore performed a systematic effort to identify caries-associated metabolites and proteins in saliva samples from adolescents that had a caries experience and those that were caries-free.

Gut microbiota and its relationship with early vascular ageing in a Spanish population (MIVAS study).

Background: Gut microbiota and its by-products are increasingly recognized as having a decisive role in cardiovascular diseases. The aim is to study the relationship between gut microbiota and early vascular ageing (EVA).

Methods: A cross-sectional study was developed in Salamanca (Spain) in which 180 subjects aged 45-74 years were recruited.

Full-length 16S rRNA gene sequencing by PacBio improves taxonomic resolution in human microbiome samples.

Background: Sequencing variable regions of the 16S rRNA gene (≃300 bp) with Illumina technology is commonly used to study the composition of human microbiota. Unfortunately, short reads are unable to differentiate between highly similar species. Considering that species from the same genus can be associated with health or disease it is important to identify them at the lowest possible taxonomic rank.

The multispecies microbial cluster of Fusobacterium, Parvimonas, Bacteroides and Faecalibacterium as a precision biomarker for colorectal cancer diagnosis.

The incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC) has increased worldwide, and early diagnosis is crucial to reduce mortality rates. Therefore, new noninvasive biomarkers for CRC are required. Recent studies have revealed an imbalance in the oral and gut microbiomes of patients with CRC, as well as impaired gut vascular barrier function.

Personalized antibiotic selection in periodontal treatment improves clinical and microbiological outputs.

Introduction: Periodontitis is a biofilm-mediated disease that is usually treated by non-surgical biofilm elimination with or without antibiotics. Antibiotic treatment in periodontal patients is typically selected empirically or using qPCR or DNA hybridization methods. These approaches are directed towards establishing the levels of different periodontal pathogens in periodontal pockets to infer the antibiotic treatment.

Dysimmunity in common variable immunodeficiency is associated with alterations in oral, respiratory, and intestinal microbiota.

Common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) is the most common symptomatic primary immunodeficiency characterized by decreased immunoglobulins and recurrent infections. Its aetiology remains unknown, and some patients present with severe non-infectious autoimmune or inflammatory complications with elevated associated morbimortality. Recently, intestinal dysbiosis has been proposed as a driver of immune dysregulation.

The making of the oral microbiome in Agta hunter-gatherers.

Ecological and genetic factors have influenced the composition of the human microbiome during our evolutionary history. We analysed the oral microbiota of the Agta, a hunter-gatherer population where some members have adopted an agricultural diet. We show that age is the strongest factor modulating the microbiome, probably through immunosenescence since we identified an increase in the number of species classified as pathogens with age.

Agta hunter-gatherer oral microbiomes are shaped by contact network structure.

Here we investigate the effects of extensive sociality and mobility on the oral microbiome of 138 Agta hunter-gatherers from the Philippines. Our comparisons of microbiome composition showed that the Agta are more similar to Central African BaYaka hunter-gatherers than to neighbouring farmers. We also defined the Agta social microbiome as a set of 137 oral bacteria (only 7% of 1980 amplicon sequence variants) significantly influenced by social contact (quantified through wireless sensors of short-range interactions).

Parvimonas micra can translocate from the subgingival sulcus of the human oral cavity to colorectal adenocarcinoma.

Oral and intestinal samples from a cohort of 93 colorectal cancer (CRC) patients and 30 healthy controls (non-CRC) were collected for microbiome analysis. Saliva (28 non-CRC and 94 CRC), feces (30 non-CRC and 97 CRC), subgingival fluid (20 CRC), and tumor tissue samples (20 CRC) were used for 16S metabarcoding and/or RNA sequencing (RNAseq) approaches. A differential analysis of the abundance, performed with the ANCOM-BC package, adjusting the P-values by the Holm-Bonferroni method, revealed that Parvimonas was significantly over-represented in feces from CRC patients (P-value < 0.

Lifestyles, arterial aging, and its relationship with the intestinal and oral microbiota (MIVAS III study): a research protocol for a cross-sectional multicenter study.

Background: The microbiota is increasingly recognized as a significant factor in the pathophysiology of many diseases, including cardiometabolic diseases, with lifestyles probably exerting the greatest influence on the composition of the human microbiome. The main objectives of the study are to analyze the association of lifestyles (diet, physical activity, tobacco, and alcohol) with the gut and oral microbiota, arterial aging, and cognitive function in subjects without cardiovascular disease in the Iberian Peninsula. In addition, the study will examine the mediating role of the microbiome in mediating the association between lifestyles and arterial aging as well as cognitive function.

Real-time monitoring of biofilm growth identifies andrographolide as a potent antifungal compound eradicating biofilms.

species cause life-threatening infections with high morbidity and mortality rates and their resistance to conventional therapy is closely linked to biofilm formation. Thus, the development of new approaches to study biofilms and the identification of novel therapeutic strategies could yield improved clinical outcomes. In the current study, we have set up an impedance-based system to study spp biofilms in real-time and to evaluate their sensitivity to two conventional antifungal groups used in clinical practice - azoles and echinocandins.

Saliva Decreases Sucrose-Induced Cariogenicity in an Experimental Biological Caries Model.

Objective: Whether a minimum quantity of saliva inhibit the caries process remains uncertain. This study aimed to investigate the impact of saliva dilutions on an in vitro caries model using () biofilms.

Methods: biofilms were cultivated on enamel and root dentin slabs, in culture media containing different proportions of saliva (/): 0%, 5%, 10%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% saliva, and exposed to a 10% sucrose solution (5 min, 3x/day), with appropriate controls.

Ficin-Cyclodextrin-Based Docking Nanoarchitectonics of Self-Propelled Nanomotors for Bacterial Biofilm Eradication.

Development of bioinspired nanomotors showing effective propulsion and cargo delivery capabilities has attracted much attention in the last few years due to their potential use in biomedical applications. However, implementation of this technology in realistic settings is still a barely explored field. Herein, we report the design and application of a multifunctional gated Janus platinum-mesoporous silica nanomotor constituted of a propelling element (platinum nanodendrites) and a drug-loaded nanocontainer (mesoporous silica nanoparticle) capped with ficin enzyme modified with β-cyclodextrins (β-CD).

Nitrate and a nitrate-reducing Rothia aeria strain as potential prebiotic or synbiotic treatments for periodontitis.

A few studies indicate that nitrate can reduce dysbiosis from a periodontitis point of view. However, these experiments were performed on samples from healthy individuals, and it is unknown if nitrate will be effective in periodontal patients, where the presence of nitrate-reducing bacteria is clearly reduced. The aim of this study was to test the effect of nitrate and a nitrate-reducing R.

The bacteriology of diabetic foot ulcers and infections and incidence of Small Colony Variants.

Uninfected diabetes-related foot ulcer (DFU) progression to diabetes-related foot infection (DFI) is a prevalent complication for patients with diabetes. DFI often progresses to osteomyelitis (DFI-OM). Active (growing) is the most common pathogen in these infections.