Mucosal microbiome in patients with recurrent aphthous stomatitis

Area of Science:

• Oral microbiology
• Immunology
• Gastroenterology

Background:

• Recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) is a common oral mucosal disease with unknown etiology.
• The oral microbiota composition influences immunity and disease progression.
• Imbalanced oral microbiota may play a key role in RAS development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the bacterial microbiota composition profiles in the oral mucosa associated with RAS.
• To compare the oral mucosal microbiota of RAS patients with healthy controls (HCs).

Main Methods:

• High-throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing was used to characterize bacterial populations.
• Oral mucosa samples were collected from healthy and ulcerated sites in RAS patients and HCs.
• Stringent criteria were used for patient recruitment, excluding those with associated medical conditions.

Main Results:

• Decreased Firmicutes and increased Proteobacteria were observed in ulcerated sites compared to healthy sites in RAS patients.
• Increased abundance of Bacteroidales was found in the healthy oral mucosa of RAS patients compared to HCs.
• Specific bacterial families (Porphyromonadaceae, Veillonellaceae) predominated in ulcerated sites, while Streptococcaceae predominated in HCs.

Conclusions:

• Mucosal microbiome alterations, specifically increased Bacteroidales species, are associated with idiopathic RAS.
• These findings suggest a potential microbial role in the initiation of RAS.
• While causality is not established, the study contributes to understanding the role of mucosal microbiome changes in oral mucosal diseases.