Inflammatory response profile in periodontitis
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The innate and adaptive inflammatory response to an intradermal periodontal pathogen in patients with periodontitis and healthy controls
IRAS ID
286237
Contact name
Francesco D'Aiuto
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University College London
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Z6364106/2020/07/93 , UCL Data Protection Registration Number
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Periodontitis (gum disease) is a common oral disease affecting up to 40% of the population worldwide. The disease is caused by some common oral bacteria. When our body is confronted with an injury or an infection, we react with a process called ‘inflammation’. This causes the redness, swelling, heat, and pain you may be familiar with following a wound or an infection. Inflammation can help the body to fight infection and repair the injury; however, in some cases, the inflammation is prolonged such that it begins to damage the tissues of the body rather than repair them.
A bulk of evidence demonstrated the association between periodontitis and systemic inflammatory diseases, particularly cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. One of the possible mechanisms that could explain this relationship is the changes in inflammatory response profiles caused by an elevated level of systemic pro-inflammatory mediators and stimulation of inflammatory cells in both innate and adaptive immune systems. In order to understand the process of inflammation and repair causing gum diseases and how it links to other diseases diabetes, blood vessel and heart (cardiovascular) disease, and autoimmune joint (rheumatoid arthritis disease), it is crucial to appreciate how different components of the immune system interact when our bodies are infected and/or injured. In this project, we will induce a mild inflammatory reaction on the skin of the forearm by injecting the killed bacteria responsible for causing gum disease.
Our objective is to acquire the white blood cells and inflammatory hormones that accumulate at the injection site, which will be analyzed by the researcher using the latest technology. In addition to helping to better understand why our immune systems misbehave in a way that predisposes/causes chronic inflammatory disease, these studies will help advise on the development of novel anti-inflammatory drugs and refine the use of current ones.
No work has been done to see how the immune system of these patients responds to an external challenge (e.g. an infection) resembling that encountered in real life. We plan to do this using an injection of a killed bacterium (same principle as vaccination) into the skin of the forearm. We will study the local process following the injection by sampling the fluid and the cells at the site (using a suction blister).
The response in patients with periodontitis will be compared to healthy controls.
REC name
London - Brighton & Sussex Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/PR/1324
Date of REC Opinion
22 Dec 2021
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion