The OMNI group has shown that the oral pathobiont bacterium Porphyromonas gingivalis that causes periodontitis, can also cause Alzheimer’s disease (AD)-like pathology in mice brains following repeated oral inoculation of the mice, or via intravenous injection of purified P. gingivalis membrane vesicles. Bacterial membrane vesicles (BMVs) are nanostructures made by all bacteria, and those produced by P. gingivalis are enriched in the surface exposed virulence factors found on the bacterial cell.
These BMVs can traverse the bloodstream from the site of disease (periodontitis), cross the blood brain barrier, and cause brain neuroinflammation. We are investigating the mechanisms by which these BMVs impact neurodegenerative processes in the brain.
Advanced in vitro tissue culture models to examine the physiological effects of bacterial membrane vesicles on mouse neural cells and “brain-in-a-dish” systems, including the induction of cell death pathways.
