Investigation of Fusobacterium Nucleatum in saliva and colorectal mucosa: a pilot study
Open accessAbstract
As evidence has been linking the oral bacterium Fusobacterium nucleatum (F. nucleatum) to colorectal tumorigenesis, we aimed to produce preliminary data on the expression of F. nucleatum in both oral and colorectal body sites in cases diagnosed with colorectal neoplasms (CRN) and CRN-free controls. We conducted a pilot hospital-based case–control study among patients who underwent colonoscopy examination. Saliva samples and biopsies from healthy colon mucosa from CRN cases and CRN-free controls, and from tumors in cases, were collected, as well as data on periodontal condition and potential CRN risk factors. A total of 22 CRN cases and 21 CRN-free controls participated in this study, with a total of 135 biospecimens collected and analyzed by qPCR for detection and quantification of F. nucleatum. The detection rate of F. nucleatum was 95% in saliva samples and 18% in colorectal mucosa specimens. The median (95% CI) salivary F. nucleatum level was 0.35 (0.15–0.82) and 0.12 (0.05–0.65) in case and control groups, respectively, with a Spearman correlation of 0.64 (95% CI 0.2–0.94) between F. nucleatum level in saliva and healthy colorectal mucosa in controls. Our study results support the need for and the feasibility of further studies that aim to investigate the association between oral and colorectal levels of F. nucleatum in CRN cases and controls. Clinical Relevance: Considering the current evidence linking F. nucleatum to colorectal carcinogenesis, investigating the role of oral F. nucleatum expression in its colorectal enrichment is crucial for colorectal cancer screening and prevention avenues.
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Based on reported target strain abundance in saliva (<10^7 cells/mL for each target species) and average saliva volume, the total amount of postbiotic cells required for efficient coaggregation was estimated to be 10^9 bacterial cells/g of product.
“Based on the reported target strain abundance in saliva (<107 cells/mL saliva for each of the target species) [43–46] and the average saliva volume in the mouth under stimulated conditions [47,48], we estimated that the total amount of postbiotic cells required for efficient coaggregation would be 109 bacterial cells/g of product.”
From Coaggregation of oral pathogens by postbiotic lactobacilli (2025) · cites this paper as [43]
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- Authors
- Idrissi Janati, A., Karp, I., Von Renteln, D., Bouin, M., Liu, Y., Tran, S. D., & Emami, E.
- Affiliations
- Western University (CA)
- McGill University (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Emami, Elham
- Venue
- Scientific Reports
- Published
- 2022-04-04
- Volume
- 12
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 5622-5622
- ISSN
- 2045-2322 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC8979950
- OpenAlex
- W4226064710
- Cited by
- 21
- References
- 41
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 2
- FWCI
- 3.74
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- Scientific Reports (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Fonds de Recherche du Québec - Santé (Doctoral scholarship)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Dentistry › Periodontics › Oral microbiology and periodontitis research
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Gut microbiota and health
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pathology and Forensic Medicine › Genetic factors in colorectal cancer
- Keywords
- Fusobacterium nucleatum, colorectal neoplasia, colorectal cancer, saliva, colorectal mucosa, oral microbiota, colorectal carcinogenesis, periodontal condition, colorectal cancer screening, colorectal cancer prevention
- MeSH terms
- Humans, Intestinal Mucosa, Pilot Projects, Saliva, Colorectal Neoplasms, Case-Control Studies, Fusobacterium nucleatum
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