Frequency of Porphyromonas gingivalis and fimA genotypes in patients with periodontitis and systemic lupus erythematosus

Objective The objective of this study was to determine and compare the distribution of fimA genotypes of Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis) in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients compared with control subjects. Material and methods This observational cross-sectional study included 281 patients divided into two groups. Group 1 (G1) consisted of 162 control subjects (30–54 years old) and, group 2 (G2) included 119 subjects (10–69 years old) diagnosed with SLE. The presence of P. gingivalis was detected by PCR. DNA sequences in acquired plaque samples were identified using P. gingivalis specific sequences and further analyzed to differentiate their fimA genotypes using six sets of fimA genotype-specific primers. Results The presence of periodontitis (PE) was similar in both groups; similar measurements were obtained regarding clinical attachment loss (CAL) (G1 1.76 ± 0.72 vs. G2 1.95 ± 0.76). G2 showed the highest frequency of P. gingivalis (94.95%). FimA genotype II is considered the most virulent and, was the most frequently found in the SLE group (53.09%). Conclusion The genotypes associated with PE are more frequently detected in SLE, which could make them susceptible to develop PE.

Functional differences of Porphyromonas gingivalis fimbriae's determining periodontal disease pathogenesis: A Literature Review

Porphyromonas gingivalis is implicated in chronic and aggressive periodontitis. This bacterium has numerous virulence factors and one is the fimbriae, which is quite important for bacterial colonization. Fimbriae are appendices that anchor to the bacterial wall and are comprised of the protein fimbriline encoded by the fimA gene. Thus far, six genotypes have been identified, fimA I to V and Ib. Genotypes II and IV are associated with periodontal disease, while genotype I is related to gingival health. Genotype identification of P. gingivalis fimA in periodontitis would be important to confirm the pathogenic genotypes and to establish risk at population level. This review is about the P. gingivalis fimA genotype prevalence worldwide. A systematic search using Pubmed, Hinary, and Science Direct within the following descriptors: Porphyromonas gingivalis, bacterial adhesion,periodontitis, fimbriae, fimA, genotipification was performed to April 2011.