Abstract Fri045: Hepatic microbiome changes induced by atherogenic Porphyromonas gingivalis infection

The microbiome, an ecosystem of microorganisms throughout the human body, interact and influence the host’s immune system, potentially affecting disease progression or remission. There have been many clinical studies revealing higher prevalence of atherosclerosis in patients with chronic periodontitis. A recent study of ours revealed that oral infection with Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis), the major pathogenic bacteria related to chronic periodontitis, accelerates atherosclerosis in hypercholesterolemic mice and the infection induces intestinal microbial changes and decrease in high density lipoprotein (HDL). Hepatic microbiome may be connected with intestinal microbiome and potentially influence to hepatic metabolism including lipoprotein metabolism. However, studies on the hepatic microbiome have been limited. In the current study, we conducted in vivo experiment to analyze the microbial composition in the liver of mice which were fed a western diet with or without oral infection with P. gingivalis. Our finding revealed that Ralstonia, a genus within the Proteobacteria phylum, was significantly increased following exposure to the periodontitis pathogen P. gingivalis. We also found that the presence of Ralstonia showed a negative correlation with the abundance of common intestinal microorganisms, suggesting P. gingivalis-induced disruption in microbial balance. We concluded that oral P. gingivalis infection induces changes in microbiome in liver and intestine. The microbial changes may affect lipoprotein metabolism and accelerate atherosclerosis.