title: Cross-talk between clinical and host-response parameters of periodontitis in smokers.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Periodontal diseases are a major public health concern leading to tooth loss and have also been shown to be associated with several chronic systemic diseases. Smoking is a major risk factor for the development of numerous systemic diseases, as well as periodontitis. While it is clear that smokers have a significantly enhanced risk for developing periodontitis leading to tooth loss, the population varies regarding susceptibility to disease associated with smoking. This investigation focused on identifying differences in four broad sets of variables, consisting of: (i) host-response molecules; (ii) periodontal clinical parameters; (iii) antibody responses to periodontal pathogens and oral commensal bacteria; and (iv) other variables of interest, in a population of smokers with (n = 171) and without (n = 117) periodontitis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Bayesian network structured learning (BNSL) techniques were used to investigate potential associations and cross-talk between the four broad sets of variables.
  
  
  RESULTS
  BNSL revealed two broad communities with markedly different topology between the populations of smokers, with and without periodontitis. Confidence of the edges in the resulting network also showed marked variations within and between the periodontitis and nonperiodontitis groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results presented validated known associations and discovered new ones with minimal precedence that may warrant further investigation and novel hypothesis generation. Cross-talk between the clinical variables and antibody profiles of bacteria were especially pronounced in the case of periodontitis and were mediated by the antibody response profile to Porphyromonas gingivalis.
authors.affiliation: Division of Biomedical Informatics, College of Medicine, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nagarajan
authors.affiliation: Center for Oral Health Research, College of Dentistry, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA.|Department of Oral Health Practice, Division of Oral Medicine, College of Dentistry, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA.
authors.forename: C S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.affiliation: Center for Oral Health Research, College of Dentistry, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA.|Department of Oral Health Practice, Division of Periodontics, College of Dentistry, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dawson
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Health Practice, Division of Periodontics, College of Dentistry, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Al-Sabbagh
authors.affiliation: Center for Oral Health Research, College of Dentistry, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA.|Department of Oral Health Practice, Division of Periodontics, College of Dentistry, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA.
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Ebersole
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood; D001499:Bayes Theorem; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003367:Cotinine / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D005891:Gingivitis / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010512:Periodontal Index; D010518:Periodontitis / Q000097:blood / Q000209:etiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000097:blood; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D003367:Cotinine
keywords: bioinformatics; host response; inflammation; periodontal disease; smoking