P.gingivalis GroEL and HSP60 specific T cells in periodontal and cardiovascular diseases

心血管疾病是大多数发达国家和许多发展中国家成年人死亡的主要原因。近年来，越来越多的证据表明，慢性感染如幽门螺杆菌和肺炎衣原体与心血管疾病有关。慢性炎症性牙周病是最常见的慢性感染之一，超过100万澳大利亚人面临失去牙齿的风险。牙齿健康状况不佳，特别是慢性牙周炎，现在一直与许多其他疾病和病症，包括心血管疾病有关。在一些研究中，牙周病和心血管疾病之间的关系比吸烟和高胆固醇等其他危险因素更强。牙周炎是由牙菌斑引起的炎症反应引起的。在牙菌斑中鉴定的主要病原体之一是牙龈卟啉单胞菌。热休克蛋白（HSP）是细胞在暴露于各种形式的应激（包括温度和损伤）时表达的。它们参与生理过程，如蛋白质的组装、运输和保护蛋白质免于分解。热休克基因和HSP的结构在物种间存在着明显的保守性。包括牙龈卟啉单胞菌在内的许多病原体携带与人类HSP相似的抗原，并且在感染期间的交叉反应可能导致疾病，例如动脉粥样硬化。本研究旨在验证细菌抗原与HSP之间的交叉反应性可能解释牙周病与心血管疾病之间的关联机制的假设。这将对牙周病和心血管疾病的治疗产生重大影响。

Cardiovascular diseases are the major cause of death in adults in most developed and many developing countries. In recent years there has been accumulating evidence that chronic infections such as Helicobacter pylori and Chlamydia pneumoniae are associated with cardiovascular diseases. Chronic inflammatory periodontal diseases are among the most common chronic infections with over one million Australians at risk of losing their teeth. Poor dental health and in particular chronic periodontitis is now consistently being associated with a number of other diseases and conditions including cardiovascular disease. In some studies the relationship between periodontal disease and cardiovascular disease is stronger than that for other risk factors such as smoking and high cholesterol. Periodontitis results from the inflammatory response to dental plaque. One of the major pathogens identified in dental plaque is P.gingivalis. Heat shock proteins (HSP) are expressed by cells on exposure to various forms of stress including temperature and injury. They participate in physiological processes such as the assembly, transport and protection of proteins from breakdown. There is a remarkable conservation in the structure of heat shock genes and HSP across species. Many pathogens including P.gingivalis bear antigens that are similar to human HSPand cross reactivity during infection may result in disease such as atherosclerosis. This study aims to test the hypothesis that cross reactivity between the bacterial antigens and HSP may explain the mechanism of the association between periodontal disease and cardiovascular disease. This would have a significant impact on the treatment of both periodontal and cardiovascular disease.