Altered composition of the oral microbiome in integrin beta 6-deficient mouse

In periodontal disease (PD), bacterial biofilms suppress β6 integrin expression transforming growth factor-β1 signaling, resulting in gingival inflammation and bone loss. β6 integrin-null (Itgb6 ) mice develop spontaneous PD. The aim of this study was to unravel potential differences in oral microbiome in wild-type (WT) and Itgb6 FVB mice. Mouse oral microbiome was analyzed from 3- and 6-month-old WT and Itgb6 . The periodontal inflammation and spontaneous bone loss were present in 3-month-old and advanced in 6-month-old Itgb6 mice. The observed amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) of alpha diversity showed close similarity in 3-month-old and 6-month-old Itgb6 mice. Chao1 and ACE methods revealed that the microbiome in Itgb6 mice showed less diversity compared to the WT. UniFrac Principal Coordinate analyses (PCoA) showed a clear spatial segregation and clustering between Itgb6 and WT mice in general, and between 3-month- and 6-month-old WT mice. Weighted PCoA showed the tight clustering and distinct separation of individual mouse samples within Itgb6 and WT. The most abundant microbial classes varied between the sample groups. However, the genus Aggregatibacter significantly increased in the 6-month-old Itgb6 mice. β6 integrin-deficient mice develop periodontal inflammation that may relate to dysbiosis in the microbiome that further promotes the disease process.