Subgingival biodiversity in subjects with uncontrolled type-2 diabetes and chronic periodontitisOriginal paper
Karen Pendergrass is a microbiome researcher specializing in microbiome-targeted interventions (MBTIs). She systematically analyzes scientific literature to identify microbial patterns, develop hypotheses, and validate interventions. As the founder of the Microbiome Signatures Database, she bridges microbiome research with clinical practice. In 2012, based on her own investigative research, she became the first documented case of FMT for Celiac Disease, four years before the first published case study.
Read MoreWhat was studied?
The study compared subgingival microbiota in deep periodontal pockets between people with uncontrolled type-2 diabetes and chronic periodontitis and nondiabetic people with chronic periodontitis. It addressed whether diabetes alters the periodontal subgingival bacterial community.
How was it studied?
Twelve subjects with uncontrolled type-2 diabetes, defined as glycated hemoglobin above 8 percent, and eleven nondiabetic subjects with severe generalized chronic periodontitis were enrolled. Subgingival biofilm was sampled from pockets deeper than 5 millimeters and analyzed by 16S rRNA gene cloning and sequencing.
What did they find?
Diabetic subjects had higher proportions of TM7, Aggregatibacter, Neisseria, Gemella, Eikenella, Selenomonas, Actinomyces, Capnocytophaga, Fusobacterium, Veillonella and Streptococcus, and lower proportions of Porphyromonas, Filifactor, Eubacterium, Synergistetes, Tannerella and Treponema, compared with nondiabetic subjects. Fusobacterium nucleatum, Veillonella parvula, Veillonella dispar and Eikenella corrodens were detected significantly more often in the diabetic group.
Why it matters
The findings show that uncontrolled type-2 diabetes is associated with a distinct subgingival microbial profile in chronic periodontitis, not just more severe disease of the same flora. This supports a biological link between glycemic control and periodontal microbial ecology.