Microbiology of the Upper GI Tract Flashcards
What are the general GI system defenses against infection?
epithelium barrier mucus barrier peristalsis to clear things saliva with lysozyme, IgA, etc normal flora acidity peyer's patches in intestine
True or false: normal flora begins to develop in our mouths during our first week of life?
false - babies have clean mouths until teeth erupt
True or false: the upper GI tract contains a huge amount of normal flora compared to elsewhere in the gut?
false - actually relatively few compared to the mouth and large intestine
What are the four phyla that can be found in the normal biota of the stomach
proteobacteria
firmicutes
actinobacteria
bacteroidetes
What are the general classes of bacteria seen in microbiome of the large intestine?
anaerobes
gram negative rods
enterococcus
spirochetes
What do we call an infectious disease that causes tooth decay?
a dental cary
What are the risk factors for dental caries?
high-sugar diet, poor oral hygriene, reduced amount of saliva, smoking, periodontal disease
What percentage of adults have had at least 1 tooth filled?
80%
highest incidence in AI/AN children
What’s the mechanism for how the bacteria cause tooth decay? It;s not that the bacteria are “eating” the teeth….
When you eat fermentable sugars, acid-producing bacteria use them for energy and release acid as a byproduct
this decreases the pH of the mouth and leads to demineralization of teeth
What’s the treatment for dental caries and why do we take this so seriously?
you drill out the decayed area and put in a filling. We do this because if you don’t, the enamel can completely wear away and then you give the bacterial access to the blood supply underneath
What is periodontal disease?
an infectious disease destroying the supporting structures of the teeth.
What’s the mild form of periodontal disease?
gingivitis - only affects the gums with irritation, redness and swelling
What’s the more severe form of periodontal disease?
periodontitis, which is infection of underlying tissues and bones
What are some conditions that periodontitis may be associated with?
heart attack stroke lung disease premature birth DIABETES
How is the damage in peridontal disease mostly mediated?
via the host immune response to the infection
While gingivitis is just swelling and redness of the gums, what will you see grossly in periodontitis?
the gums recede and you have localized loss of attachment of the teeth to the gums
What virulence factor is essential for virtually all dental infectious diseases?
biofilm prroduction
What are biofilms composed of?
two or more bacterial microcolonies that are enclosed in glycocalyx (composed of polysaccharides)
also some proteins and DNA
note - there can be hundreds of species in a biofilm
Describe the process for formaiton of a biofilm.
- bacterial weakly adhere to the surface cells
- stronger adhereance over time - likely co-adhesion mediated
- multiplation of bacteria
- bacterial make polysaccharide
- polysaccharide builds up and the microbial composition changes over time as it makes it mroe suitable for organisms that otherwise wouldn’t survive
What are some of the reasons why bacteria would want to live in a biofilm?
easier to adhere protects them from the immun system protects them from ABx allows for symbiotic relationships local conditions of pH are more hospitable than the actual environment
Is plaque always bad? It’s basically a biofilm….
Plaque can be stable with no infectious microorgnisms, but it’s easy for perturbations to change the microbial balance toward more virulent orgnaisms
What general type of organisms predominate in the oral cavity (we each cary about 100-200!)
anerobic organisms predominate
What are some species of streptococci that play important roles in protecting against dental caries and periodontiis? How?
the “mitis” group = S sanguinis, S oralis, S gordonii and S. mitis
they produce hydrogen peroxide which inhibits the growth of other oral bacteria
Where are the microbes that cause caries usually located?
plaques on tooth surfaces especially in crevices and between teeth
Are the species that cause caries usually gram negative or positive?
gram positive
Microbes that cause periodontal disease are located where?
below the gumline int he subgingival space
Are microbes that cause periodontal disease usually gram negative or positive?
gram negative
Why is it hard to identify specifically which “bad” oral microorgnisms are th ekey players in someone’s disease?
because they’re almost all streptococci and will look the same on growth and 16s rRNA analysis
also all strep viridans
What group is particularly associated with tooth decay?
mutans group -
strep mutans and strep sobrinus
What virulence factor for the mutans group make it likely to cause caries?
adhesin-like surface-associated proteins like the AgI and AgII family that are capable of binding to receptors in the pellicle
also extracellular glucosyltransferases Gtfs that are capable of synthesizing glucans - a type of polysaccharide from istu to make more S mutans binding sites
What is a keystone pathogen?
It’s an organism that can be present without causing disease until it reaches a certain ratio, after which is can orchestrate destructive inflammation and remodling of the normally symbiotic microbiota into a dysbiotic state
mess with complement basically
What are three examples of keystone pathogens involved in dental caries?
treponema denticola
tannerella forsythia
porphyromonas gingivalis (most studied bc it can be cultured)