Hepatocyte Growth Factor Differentially Modulates Oral Microbiota in Early vs. Late Experimental Periodontitis

Periodontitis is a chronic disease triggered by disturbed oral microbiota. We have previously reported that hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) could mitigate early-stage experimental periodontitis but exacerbate the condition in its late stage. Here, we investigated the impact of HGF on the periodontal microbiome during periodontitis progression.

We established ligation-induced periodontitis in wild-type (WT) mice and HGF high-expression transgenic (HGF-Tg) mice. We quantified the levels of IL-6 and TNF-α in periodontal tissues, as well as the serum concentrations of CTXI and PINP. Ligatures were collected on days 0, 7, and 28 after ligation for 16S rRNA sequencing and microbial analysis.

HGF significantly altered the diversity of ligatures during periodontitis. Interestingly, specific microbial genera, such as Lactobacillus, exhibited opposing trends between the two disease stages of HGF-Tg mice, aligning with the different effects of HGF on periodontitis progression. We also identified some taxa, such as Sphingomonas, associated with IL-6, TNF-α, CTXI, and PINP. The predicted inflammatory pathways (e.g., IL-17 signaling pathways) were enriched in HGF-Tg mice on day 28 but decreased on day 7.

HGF exerted different influences on the microbiota of ligatures during early and late stages of periodontitis, which may account for the divergent effects of HGF on periodontitis progression.