Immunophenotyping of the oral mucosa
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The influence of ageing and periodontitis on immune functionality at the oral barrier.
IRAS ID
164015
Contact name
Joanne Konkel
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Manchester
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 6 months, 0 days
Research summary
Periodontitis is an inflammatory disease affecting the gums and teeth. Importantly, it is the most common inflammatory disease of man and affects nearly 50% of the global population. This extremely common disease causes, not only loss of teeth and bone destruction, but is also a risk factor for other chronic inflammatory diseases including diabetes and heart disease. As such, people with periodontitis are more likely to develop other chronic inflammatory diseases. Therefore, periodontitis exerts effects outside the oral cavity affecting systemic inflammatory responses. As such it is ever more important to understand periodontal inflammation and the factors driving development of this disease.
Periodontitis results from an aberrant immune response mounted against the commensal/friendly bacteria that live on teeth. However, although commensal/friendly bacteria are vital for the progression of the disease, periodontitis is caused by a malfunction in our own immune systems. Essentially periodontitis results a failure to appropriately control immune responses in the oral cavity. Despite knowing this, we actually know little of how the immune system functions in the oral cavity, and specifically at the oral barrier; the interface between the internal body, the teeth and commensal/friendly bacteria. At the oral barrier the immune system has to mediate a delicate balance, it must protect against pathogen entry and also be able to distinguish these bad invaders from commensal bacteria. This is a difficult challenge and to achieve this the immune system is carefully tailored to the oral barrier creating a highly specialized network of immune cells. Importantly, this network of specialized immune cells will be unique to the oral barrier and will not be found at any other site in the body.
The aim of this application is to better define the unique immunological network that operates at the oral barrier, generating an in-depth understanding of how the immune system functions in the mouth. Understanding this is key to outlining the pathogenesis of periodontitis and the systemic consequences associated with it.
REC name
North West - Preston Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/NW/0026
Date of REC Opinion
22 Dec 2014
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion