Researchers investigate oral cancer, periodontal disease relationship

Jul 14 2010

Today during the 88th General Session & Exhibition of the International Association for Dental Research, in Barcelona, Spain, presenting author J. Meyle, Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Germany, will present an abstract titled "P. gingivalis Infection and Immune Evasion of Oral Carcinomas."

Meyle and his team are investigating the relationship of oral cancers and periodontal disease. They achieved results by infecting cell carcinoma cells SCC-25 with Porphyromonas gingivalis (P.g.) W83. After 48h the cells were stained with antibodies against human B7-H1, B7-DC and TLR4 and analysed by flow cytometry. RNA was extracted after 24h and gene expression of B7-H1, B7DC, TLR4, IFN-γ and IL-10 was quantified by real time PCR and analysed by the ΔΔCT method.

Up-regulation of B7-H1 in host cells may contribute to the chronicity of inflammatory disorders which frequently precede the development of human cancers. B7-H1 expression was detected in the majority of human cancers and leads to anergy and apoptosis of activated T cells, which might enable tumors to evade the immune response. TLR4 signalling has been shown to induce B7-H1 in bladder cancer cells.

P.g., a putative periodontal pathogen, is an etiologic agent of periodontitis and expresses a variety of virulence factors. In this study the expression of B7-H1 and B7-DC receptors and TLR4 on squamous cell carcinoma cells SCC-25 was analysed after infection with P.g. in vitro.

The research concludes that P.g. is able to induce the expression of the immune regulating receptors B7-H1 and B7-DC in squamous cell carcinoma which may facilitate immune evasion of oral cancers in patients with periodontal infections.

This is a summary of abstract #230, "P. gingivalis Infection and Immune Evasion of oral Carcinomas" to be presented by J. Meyle at 1:45 p.m., Wednesday, July 14, 2010 in Room 117 of the Centre Convencions Internacional Barcelona, Spain during the 88th General Session & Exhibition of the International Association for Dental Research.

Source: International & American Association for Dental Research