Abstract
Aim. Establishment of presence of periodontopathogenic microorganisms in atherosclerosis plaque and surrounding tissues, and possible relation of development of atherosclerosis and TLR4 gene Asp299Gly polymorphism in ischemic heart disease patients (IHD). Materials and methods. Samples of coronary vessels obtained during autopsy of 31 individuals deceased from IHD and 5 individuals deceased due to reasons not related with IHD were studied. PCR was used to determine DNA of the microorganisms. TLR4 gene polymorphic segment was amplified by using specific primers. Results. Analysis of coronary vessel atherosclerotic plaques revealed presence of the studied periodontopathogenic microorganisms in 83.9% of cases. The most frequently detected were Porphyromonas gingivalis (64.5%), Treponema denticola (41.9%), Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans (32.3%), less frequently - Bacteroides forsythus and Prevotella intermedia (12.9% and 6.5% respectively). In 51.6% of cases 2 or more microorganisms were detected. Only in 11.1% of coronary artery samples, with plaques containing microorganisms, the microorganisms were detected in undamaged tissues. Patients deceased from IHD had TLR4 gene 299Gly allele significantly more frequently. Conclusion. The studied periodontopathogenic microorganisms can play an important role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerotic injury of coronary arteries in IHD. The presence of TLR4 gene allele 299Gly significantly contributes to these processes.
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