title: Clarithromycin suppresses the periodontal bacteria-accelerated abdominal aortic aneurysms in mice.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Although clarithromycin (CAM) has many biological functions, including regulation of MMPs, little is known about its effect on abdominal aortic aneurysms. Periodontopathic bacteria have been reported to be associated with several kinds of circulatory diseases. The purpose of this study was therefore to clarify the effect of CAM on periodontopathic bacteria-accelerated abdominal aortic aneurysms.
  
  
  METHODS
  Abdominal aortic aneurysm was produced in mice by the peri-aortic application of 0.25 m CaCl(2). The mice were inoculated once per week with live Porphyromonas gingivalis, which is one of the major periodontopathic bacteria. Test mice (n=8) were given a daily oral dose of CAM, while control mice (n=13) were not.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Four weeks after the operation, the P. gingivalis-injected and CAM-treated mice showed a significant decrease in the aortic diameter in comparison with the mice only injected with P. gingivalis. Histopathologically, the samples obtained from the P. gingivalis-injected and CAM-treated mice showed less elastic degradation. Moreover, the plasma MMP-2 concentration of the CAM-treated mice decreased significantly.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest that CAM administration is useful to suppress periodontal bacteria-accelerated abdominal aortic aneurysms via MMP regulation.
authors.affiliation: Section of Periodontology, Department of Hard Tissue Engineering, Graduate School of Medicine and Dentistry, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Aoyama
authors.forename: J-I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ogawa
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hanatani
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ashigaki
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Izumi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Isobe
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017544:Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology; D017291:Clarithromycin / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004318:Doxycycline / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008297:Male; D020778:Matrix Metalloproteinase 2 / Q000097:blood; D020780:Matrix Metalloproteinase 9 / Q000097:blood; D061965:Matrix Metalloproteinase Inhibitors / Q000097:blood / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D016966:Porphyromonas gingivalis; D011500:Protein Synthesis Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D019715:Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase-1 / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D061965:Matrix Metalloproteinase Inhibitors; D011500:Protein Synthesis Inhibitors; D019715:Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase-1; D020778:Matrix Metalloproteinase 2; D020780:Matrix Metalloproteinase 9; D017291:Clarithromycin; D004318:Doxycycline