Herpesviral-bacterial interrelationships in aggressive periodontitis

Recent findings have begun to provide a basis for a causal link between herpesviruses and aggressive periodontitis. One theory is that herpesviruses cooperate with specific bacteria in the etiopathogenesis of the disease. This study examined whether the presence of herpesviruses [human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) type 1, herpes simplex virus (HSV) type 1 and 2] is associated with the presence of putative pathogenic bacteria (Porphyromonas gingivalis, Prevotella intermedia, Tannerella forsythia, Campylobacter rectus, Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans) in aggressive periodontitis lesions.

The study included 18 young adults with advanced periodontitis and 16 periodontally healthy subjects from Ankara, Turkey. Subgingival specimens pooled from two sites in each subject were collected by a periodontal curette. Qualitative polymerase chain reaction methodology was used to identify herpesviruses and bacteria. Chi-square tests were employed to determine statistical associations among herpesviruses, bacteria and periodontal disease.

HCMV, EBV-1 and HSV-1 were each detected in 72-78% of the aggressive periodontitis patients. HSV-2 occurred in 17% of the periodontitis patients. EBV-1 was detected in one periodontally healthy subject. The study bacteria occurred in 78-83% (P. gingivalis, T. forsythia, C. rectus) and in 44% (P. intermedia, A. actinomycetemcomitans) of the periodontitis samples, and in 0-19% of the samples from healthy periodontal sites. HCMV, EBV-1 and HSV-1 were positively associated with P. gingivalis, P. intermedia, T. forsythia and C. rectus, but not with A. actinomycetemcomitans. HSV-2 was not associated with any test bacteria.

These results support the notion that the clinical outcome of some types of severe periodontal infection depends on the presence of specific herpesviruses and bacterial pathogens. Our findings open the door to testing a variety of hypotheses regarding the deleterious aspects of combined herpesviral-bacterial infections in periodontal sites.