Ji Mengzhen, Xiong Kaixin, Fu Di, Chi Yaqi, Wang Ye, Yao Lin, Yang Xueqin, Yan Yujia, Zhu Hualing, Li Yanyao, Ren Biao, Zou Ling
State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, West China School of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
Tianfu Jiangxi Laboratory, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
Clin Oral Investig. 2025 Mar 29;29(4):217. doi: 10.1007/s00784-025-06301-9.
To investigate the relationship between microorganisms and root caries, identify core species, and explore their interactions.
Thirty patients with different levels of root caries were included. Plaques from superficial (n = 30) and deep root caries (n = 30) and sound root surfaces (n = 30) were collected. Microbial diversity and composition across different stages of root caries were analyzed using 16 S rRNA and 18 S rRNA high-throughput sequencing. Wilcoxon paired comparisons were conducted to minimize individual variations. LefSe analysis was performed to identify stage-specific microbial enrichment. In vitro biofilm models of C. albicans, S. mutans and A. viscosus were established to examine the effects of C. albicans on biofilm formation, virulence factor expression, and metabolic pathway regulation. Fungal transcriptomes were sequenced to explore how fungal species affect bacterial growth and cariogenicity.
No significant differences in microbial diversity or structure were observed, but relative abundances of some species differed significantly (p < 0.05). LefSe analysis showed that the genus Streptococcus, Actinomyces, Lactobacillus, and Bacillus were enriched in superficial caries, whereas Prevotella was enriched in deep lesions. C. albicans was the predominant fungal species in root plaques and positively correlated with S. mutans and Actinomyces sp. HMT448. C. albicans promoted the growth, biofilm formation, and cariogenicity of S. mutans and A. viscosus via the arginine biosynthesis pathway.
Oral microecology is stable, and species imbalance is a key factor in root caries. Cross-kingdom interactions between S. mutans, A. viscosus, and C. albicans enhance cariogenic biofilms via the arginine biosynthesis pathway, offering insights for clinical treatments of root caries.
Our study revealed the first landscape of the microbiome from different stages of root caries and indicated that targeting the interactions of core species may be a practical way to prevent and treat clinical root caries.
研究微生物与根龋之间的关系，鉴定核心菌种，并探索它们之间的相互作用。
纳入30例患有不同程度根龋的患者。收集浅表根龋（n = 30）、深根龋（n = 30）和健康根面（n = 30）的菌斑。使用16S rRNA和18S rRNA高通量测序分析根龋不同阶段的微生物多样性和组成。进行Wilcoxon配对比较以最小化个体差异。进行LefSe分析以鉴定阶段特异性微生物富集。建立白色念珠菌、变形链球菌和粘性放线菌的体外生物膜模型，以研究白色念珠菌对生物膜形成、毒力因子表达和代谢途径调节的影响。对真菌转录组进行测序，以探索真菌物种如何影响细菌生长和致龋性。
未观察到微生物多样性或结构的显著差异，但某些菌种的相对丰度存在显著差异（p < 0.05）。LefSe分析表明，链球菌属、放线菌属、乳杆菌属和芽孢杆菌属在浅表龋中富集，而普雷沃菌属在深部病变中富集。白色念珠菌是根菌斑中的主要真菌物种，与变形链球菌和放线菌属HMT448呈正相关。白色念珠菌通过精氨酸生物合成途径促进变形链球菌和粘性放线菌的生长、生物膜形成和致龋性。
口腔微生态稳定，物种失衡是根龋的关键因素。变形链球菌、粘性放线菌和白色念珠菌之间的跨界相互作用通过精氨酸生物合成途径增强致龋生物膜，为根龋的临床治疗提供了思路。
我们的研究揭示了根龋不同阶段微生物组的首个全貌，并表明针对核心菌种的相互作用可能是预防和治疗临床根龋的实用方法。
