“A recent Cell Host & Microbe paper reveals that Porphyromonas gingivalis, the key bacterial trigger for periodon- titis, disrupts the homeostasis between the host and the commensal oral microbiota, thereby tipping the balance towards inflammatory disease.
Periodontitis is characterized by inflammatory periodontal bone loss and is the most common cause of tooth loss worldwide. P. gingivalis was known to have a key role in this complex polymicrobial infection, but its precise contribution to the disease state was unclear. Previous data had suggested that the host complement system is also involved, but whether complement activation has a protective or destructive effect was uncertain.”
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