Breakthrough in Alzheimer's Research: Melbourne Dental School Team Awarded $1.73 Million Grant to Explore Oral Bacteria's Role

Melbourne Dental School Researchers Discover a Causal Link Between Oral Bacteria Resident in Subgingival Plaque and Alzheimer’s Disease

The team led by Associate Professor Catherine Butler have shown that bacterial membrane vesicles, subcellular nanoparticles secreted by bacteria that cause periodontitis, can escape the oral cavity and enter the bloodstream. Once in the bloodstream they are carried towards the brain, where they are able to cross the blood brain barrier, and enter the brain. These bacterial membrane vesicles are decorated with a range of bacterial virulence factors that cause neuroinflammation and Alzheimer’s disease-like pathology.

The discovery that this pathology occurs in the absence of whole bacterial cells and is the result of bacterial membrane vesicles produced in the oral cavity during periodontitis, has major ramifications for prevention, biomarker discovery and treatment of this debilitating disease.

Their paradigm shifting research has been recognized by the award of a National Health and Medical Research Council Ideas Grant of $1.73 million over the next 4 years. Titled “Defining how pathogenic bacterial membrane vesicles impact neurodegenerative processes in Alzheimer's disease”, this prestigious grant will enable the team to expand their research in this vital area and further explore links between oral and systemic diseases.

Congratulations to Associate Professor Catherine Butler, Dr Joe Ciccotosto, and Professor Stuart Dashper.