Researchers have identified the genes in periodontal disease bacteria that allow them to invade and infect human arterial cells, offering one possible explanation for a perceived connection between gum and heart disease.

Scientists from the University of Florida, Gainesville found that Porphyromas gingivalis, an important bacterium that causes gum disease, is also linked to cardiovascular disease. In their study they identified and studied four genes of P. gingivalis that allow it to infect and survive inside artery cells.

Paulo Rodrigues, a researcher on the study and his colleagues had previ ously discovered that P. gingivalis had the ability to invade and survive inside human artery cells. In this study they created four strains of the bacterium, each with a different gene mutated to disable it, and tested its ability to invade and survive in artery cells compared to a fully functioning strain of P. gingivalis.

“Our study showed that all four mutated strains were defective in invasion of the artery cells and that their ability to survive inside the cells was diminished. These results show that these four genes play a role in the invasion and survival of P. gingivalis inside artery cells,” said Rodrigues. “The knowledge of how this pathogenic bacterium interacts with artery cells is important and may lead to the development of therapeutics and diagnostic tools for the detection and possibly prevention of heart diseases caused by this association.”

The research was presented at the 106th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in Orlando, Florida last month.