Identifying the Involvement of the Bacterium Persister as a Cause of Recurrent or Chronic Periodontal Disease

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 22K17020
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 57020:Oral pathobiological science-related
• Research Institution: Kyushu Dental College
• Principal Investigator: Yamasaki Ryota 九州歯科大学, 歯学部, 助教 (70841998)
• Project Period (FY): 2022-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: Persister / A. actinomycetemcomitans / 歯周病 / 過酸化水素

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Periodontal disease is primarily caused by pathogenic bacteria in the oral cavity, but no matter how many drugs are used to treat patients with periodontal disease, it is difficult to completely eliminate the oral pathogenic bacteria, which quickly multiply and pose a risk of recurrence after treatment. One of the causes of bacterial survival in response to drug therapy is “persister”. In periodontal disease, a small percentage of periodontopathogenic bacteria may survive drug treatment by forming persisters, which may lead to re-growth and persistence of the disease. The purpose of this study is to clarify the risk of Persister in drug therapy, to elucidate its mechanism, to find a method to eliminate it completely, and to obtain new knowledge on the control of chronicity and recurrence of periodontal disease.

Free Research Field

口腔細菌学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

成人の約8割が歯肉炎や歯周炎を患っているとされるほど、世界的にも最も多い感染症の一つとされる。さらに歯周病は慢性化することが問題となっているが、最も大きな要因は歯周病原細菌の存在である。これら歯周病原細菌が歯科治療後に再発することがしばしばあるが、その原因として「口腔細菌のPersister化」を提案する。Persisterという新たな概念をもとに、これまでとは異なる歯周病の治療や予防法を提唱し、歯周病の根治や再発を防ぐための効果的な方法を確立することで、歯周病の根治または歯周疾患リスクの低減という社会的意義をもつ。