title: Porphyromonas gingivalis participates in pathogenesis of human abdominal aortic aneurysm by neutrophil activation. Proof of concept in rats.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms (AAAs) represent a particular form of atherothrombosis where neutrophil proteolytic activity plays a major role. We postulated that neutrophil recruitment and activation participating in AAA growth may originate in part from repeated episodes of periodontal bacteremia.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Our results show that neutrophil activation in human AAA was associated with Neutrophil Extracellular Trap (NET) formation in the IntraLuminal Thrombus, leading to the release of cell-free DNA. Human AAA samples were shown to contain bacterial DNA with high frequency (11/16), and in particular that of Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg), the most prevalent pathogen involved in chronic periodontitis, a common form of periodontal disease. Both DNA reflecting the presence of NETs and antibodies to Pg were found to be increased in plasma of patients with AAA. Using a rat model of AAA, we demonstrated that repeated injection of Pg fostered aneurysm development, associated with pathological characteristics similar to those observed in humans, such as the persistence of a neutrophil-rich luminal thrombus, not observed in saline-injected rats in which a healing process was observed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Thus, the control of periodontal disease may represent a therapeutic target to limit human AAA progression.
authors.affiliation: Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale U698, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Sandrine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Delbosc
authors.forename: Jean-Marc
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Alsac
authors.forename: Clement
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Journe
authors.forename: Liliane
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Louedec
authors.forename: Yves
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Castier
authors.forename: Martine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bonnaure-Mallet
authors.forename: Raymond
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ruimy
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rossignol
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bouchard
authors.forename: Jean-Baptiste
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Michel
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Meilhac
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000818:Animals; D017544:Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology*; D001483:Base Sequence; D015153:Blotting, Western; D017931:DNA Primers; D005260:Female; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018375:Neutrophil Activation; D016966:Porphyromonas gingivalis / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers