Cited by 1,154Oral microbiology and periodontitis researchGut microbiota and healthBacterial biofilms and quorum sensing

Low-Abundance Biofilm Species Orchestrates Inflammatory Periodontal Disease through the Commensal Microbiota and Complement

Open access
Hajishengallis, George, Liang, Shuang, Payne, Mark A., Hashim, Ahmed, Jotwani, Ravi, Eskan, Mehmet A., McIntosh, Megan L., Alsam, Asil +4 more·2011·Cell Host & Microbe

Abstract

Porphyromonas gingivalis is a low-abundance oral anaerobic bacterium implicated in periodontitis, a polymicrobial inflammatory disease, and the associated systemic conditions. However, the mechanism by which P. gingivalis contributes to inflammation and disease has remained elusive. Here we show that P. gingivalis, at very low colonization levels, triggers changes to the amount and composition of the oral commensal microbiota leading to inflammatory periodontal bone loss. The commensal microbiota and complement were both required for P. gingivalis-induced bone loss, as germ-free mice or conventionally raised C3a and C5a receptor-deficient mice did not develop bone loss after inoculation with P. gingivalis. These findings demonstrate that a single, low-abundance species can disrupt host-microbial homeostasis to cause inflammatory disease. The identification and targeting of similar low-abundance pathogens with community-wide impact may be important for treating inflammatory diseases of polymicrobial etiology.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1016/j.chom.2011.10.006

Cites

50 of 50 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Studies using germ-free mice have demonstrated the role of diabetes in disrupting the equilibrium of the oral microbiota and confirmed the role of the oral microbiota in periodontal disease pathogenesis.

    “Studies using germ‐free mice have also been employed in the context of the oral microbiome, demonstrating the role of diabetes in disrupting the equilibrium of the oral microbiota50 and confirming the role of the oral microbiota in periodontal disease pathogenesis.51, 52”
  • Diseased periodontal tissues additionally store pro-inflammatory mediators associated with periodontitis.

    “Diseased periodontal tissues additionally stores pro‐inflammatory mediators associated with periodontitis.51, 183, 202”
  • The importance of commensal species to pathogenesis is further demonstrated by the requirement for commensal microbial communities in the instigation of disease by periodontal pathogens.

    “The importance of commensal species to pathogenesis is further demonstrated by the requirement for commensal microbial communities in the instigation of disease by periodontal pathogens.51, 52”
  • The integration of periodontal pathogens, even at low abundance, is able to alter the composition of the microbiota and results in destruction of periodontal tissues by inflammatory processes that they induce.

    “The integration of periodontal pathogens, even at low abundance, is able to alter the composition of the microbiota and results in destruction of periodontal tissues by inflammatory processes that they induce.51”

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Hajishengallis, G., Liang, S., Payne, M. A., Hashim, A., Jotwani, R., Eskan, M. A., McIntosh, M. L., Alsam, A., Kirkwood, K. L., Lambris, J. D., Darveau, R. P., & Curtis, M. A.
Affiliations
  • University of Louisville (US)
  • Queen Mary University of London (GB)
  • Medical University of South Carolina (US)
  • University of Pennsylvania (US)
  • University of Washington (US)
Corresponding author
  • Hajishengallis, George
  • Darveau, Richard P.
  • Curtis, Michael A.
Venue
Cell Host & Microbe
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2011-11
Volume
10
Issue
5
Pages
497-506
ISSN
1931-3128 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2090443712
Cited by
1,154
References
50
Citations by year
2026: 56 · 2025: 75 · 2024: 95 · 2023: 85 · 2022: 84 · 2021: 99 · 2020: 112 · 2019: 80 · 2018: 80 · 2017: 80 · 2016: 61 · 2015: 71 · 2014: 71 · 2013: 59 · 2012: 41
FWCI
69.00
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Cell Host & Microbe (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institute of General Medical Sciences (GM062134, R01GM062134)
  • National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (AI 068730, P01AI068730)
  • National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (R01DE018292, DE-015254, R01DE015254, DE021580, R01DE018274, DE018274, DE018292, RC4DE021580, R01DE021423)
  • National Center for Research Resources (P20RR017696)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Dentistry › Periodontics › Oral microbiology and periodontitis research
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Gut microbiota and health
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Bacterial biofilms and quorum sensing
Keywords
Porphyromonas gingivalis, periodontitis, periodontal bone loss, complement system, C3a receptor, C5a receptor, host-microbe homeostasis, germ-free mice, dental plaque
MeSH terms
Animals, Complement System Proteins, Humans, Mice, Inbred BALB C, Mice, Inbred C3H, Periodontitis, Periodontium, Bacteroidaceae Infections, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Mice, Knockout, Biofilms, Mice, Metagenome

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review