Dental Biofilm and Saliva Microbiome and Its Interplay with Pediatric Allergies

Nicole B Arweiler; Vivien Rahmel; Bilal Alashkar Alhamwe; Fahd Alhamdan; Michael Zemlin; Sébastien Boutin; Alexander Dalpke; Harald Renz

doi:10.3390/microorganisms9061330

Dental Biofilm and Saliva Microbiome and Its Interplay with Pediatric Allergies

Microorganisms. 2021 Jun 18;9(6):1330. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms9061330.

Authors

Nicole B Arweiler¹, Vivien Rahmel¹, Bilal Alashkar Alhamwe², Fahd Alhamdan³, Michael Zemlin⁴, Sébastien Boutin^{5

6}, Alexander Dalpke⁷, Harald Renz^{3

8}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Periodontology and Peri-Implant Diseases, Philipps University Marburg, 35039 Marburg, Germany.
² Institute of Tumor Immunology, Clinic for Hematology, Oncology and Immunology, Center for Tumor Biology and Immunology, Philipps University Marburg, 35039 Marburg, Germany.
³ Institute of Laboratory Medicine, Philipps University Marburg, Member of the German Center for Lung Research (DZL), 35039 Marburg, Germany.
⁴ Department for General Pediatrics and Neonatology, Saarland University Medical Center, 66421 Homburg, Germany.
⁵ Department of Infectious Diseases, Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, University Heidelberg, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany.
⁶ Translational Lung Research Center Heidelberg (TLRC), German Center for Lung Research (DZL), University of Heidelberg, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany.
⁷ Institute of Medical Microbiology and Virology, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Medical Faculty, Technische Universität Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany.
⁸ Department of Clinical Immunology and Allergology, Laboratory of Immunopathology, Sechenov University, Moscow, Russia, Member of Universities of Giessen and Marburg Lung Center (UGMLC), 35039 Marburg, Germany.

Abstract

Little is known about the interplay and contribution of oral microorganisms to allergic diseases, especially in children. The aim of the clinical study was to associate saliva and dental biofilm microbiome with allergic disease, in particular with allergic asthma. In a single-center study, allergic/asthmatic children (n = 15; AA-Chd; age 10.7 ± 2.9), atopic/allergic children (n = 16; AT/AL-Chd; 11.3 ± 2.9), and healthy controls (n = 15; CON-Chd; age 9.9 ± 2.2) were recruited. After removing adhering biofilms from teeth and collecting saliva, microbiome was analyzed by using a 16s-rRNA gene-based next-generation sequencing in these two mediums. Microbiome structure differed significantly between saliva and dental biofilms (β-diversity). Within the groups, the dental biofilm microbiome of AA-Chd and AT/AL-Chd showed a similar microbial fingerprint characterized by only a small number of taxa that were enriched or depleted (4) compared to the CON-Chd, while both diseased groups showed a stronger microbial shift compared to CON-Chd, revealing 14 taxa in AA-Chd and 15 taxa in AT/AL-Chd that were different. This could be the first note to the contribution of dental biofilm and its metabolic activity to allergic health or disease.

Keywords: 16s-rRNA gene next-generation sequencing; biofilm metabolism; dental biofilm; oral microbiome; saliva.