Alomeir Nora, Mao Xinyue, Yang Ruqian, Assery Nasser, Quataert Sally, Seppo Antti, Lu Xingyi, Wu Tong Tong, Xiao Jin
Eastman Institute for Oral Health, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, 14620, USA.
Biostatistics and Computational Biology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, 14620, USA.
Sci Rep. 2025 May 6;15(1):15776. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-99692-4.
This study aims to assess levels of salivary immune markers in women during the 3rd trimester of pregnancy and explores the association between immune markers and dental caries, as well as oral carriage of oral pathogens Candida albicans and Streptococcus mutans. These organisms are known to be associated with oral infectious diseases such as dental caries and oral candida infection. Methods: Pregnant women from underserved background participated in this study (n = 181). Participants received a comprehensive oral examination by trained and calibrated dentists. Levels of 36 immune markers in unstimulated saliva samples were measured using Bio-Plex200 (Luminex). Salivary S. mutans and C. albicans were quantified using viable count (CFU/ml). Quantities of immune markers and colony-forming-units of S. mutans and C. albicans were converted to natural log data for statistical analysis. Latent class analysis was used to assess the clustering effect of immune markers among the participants. Results: The study found high quantities of salivary immune markers in pregnant women with varying detection rates. Univariate analysis found a higher salivary level of IFN-g and TNF-b among women with < 4 decayed teeth, compared to those with ≥ 4 decayed teeth (p < 0.05). Among women with more than 10 CFU/ml S. mutans in saliva, FLT-3 L, IL-17a, TNF-B, and VEGF-a levels were significantly decreased (p < 0.05), while G-CSF levels were significantly increased (p < 0.05). Lower levels of VEGF-a, Eotaxin and IL-9 were found among the individuals with salivary C. albicans (p < 0.05). Two distinct clusters were identified among the 181 participants, low-level and high-level of immune markers. The logistic regression model with Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) penalty identified several potential variables associated with high-level of salivary immune markers. Debiased results indicated statistically significant association between plaque C. albicans and S. mutans and immune markers (p < 0.05), with higher levels of these variables correlating with lower level of immune markers. In summary, our research underscores the intricate relationship between caries status, microbial populations, and immune markers in pregnant women.
本研究旨在评估妊娠晚期女性唾液免疫标志物水平，并探讨免疫标志物与龋齿、口腔病原菌白色念珠菌和变形链球菌口腔携带之间的关联。已知这些微生物与龋齿和口腔念珠菌感染等口腔传染病有关。方法：来自服务不足背景的孕妇参与了本研究（n = 181）。参与者接受了由经过培训和校准的牙医进行的全面口腔检查。使用Bio-Plex200（Luminex）测量未刺激唾液样本中36种免疫标志物的水平。使用活菌计数（CFU/ml）对唾液中的变形链球菌和白色念珠菌进行定量。将免疫标志物的数量以及变形链球菌和白色念珠菌的菌落形成单位转换为自然对数数据进行统计分析。使用潜在类别分析评估参与者中免疫标志物的聚类效应。结果：研究发现孕妇唾液免疫标志物数量较多，检测率各不相同。单因素分析发现，与有≥4颗龋齿的女性相比，龋齿<4颗的女性唾液中IFN-γ和TNF-β水平更高（p<0.05）。在唾液中变形链球菌>10 CFU/ml的女性中，FLT-3 L、IL-17a、TNF-B和VEGF-a水平显著降低（p<0.05），而G-CSF水平显著升高（p<0.05）。在唾液中有白色念珠菌的个体中发现VEGF-a、嗜酸性粒细胞趋化因子和IL-9水平较低（p<0.05）。在181名参与者中识别出两个不同的聚类，即免疫标志物的低水平和高水平。采用最小绝对收缩和选择算子（LASSO）惩罚的逻辑回归模型确定了几个与唾液免疫标志物高水平相关的潜在变量。去偏结果表明，菌斑白色念珠菌和变形链球菌与免疫标志物之间存在统计学上的显著关联（p<0.05），这些变量水平越高，与免疫标志物水平越低相关。总之，我们的研究强调了孕妇龋齿状况、微生物群落和免疫标志物之间的复杂关系。
