Study shows gingivitis bacteria actually manipulate the body's immune system so they can survive

New research from the Department of Pediatric Dentistry at the University of Alabama in Birmingham demonstrates that the bacteria Porphyromonas gingivalis goes beyond merely evading the body's defenses and actually manipulates the immune system for its own survival.

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The new research report, published in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology, shows how the bacteria known for causing gum disease — Porphyromonas gingivalis — manipulates the body's immune system to disable normal processes that would otherwise destroy it. The P. gingivalis pathogen prompts the production of the anti-inflammatory molecule Interleukin-10, which, in turn, inhibits the function of T-cells that would otherwise help protect the host from this microbial infection.

Researcher Jannet Katz, DDS, PhD, says, "We hope that the results of our study will ultimately help in the development of novel treatments that could prevent or ameliorate the chronic infection caused by the pathogen P. gingivalis."

Read more from the original article in ScienceDaily.