A new University of Buffalo study recently showed how obesity might be associated with gum disease, specifically periodontal disease.
As indicated in a Devdiscourse report, the new research specified that chronic inflammation resulting from obesity might stimulate the development of cells that break down bone disuse, which includes the bone that's holding teeth in place.
The research, completed in an animal prototype, showed that excessive inflammation caused by obesity increases the number of MDSC or myeloid-derived superior cells, a group of immune cells that increase during the occurrence of an illness to regulate the function of the immune system.
MDSCs, originating in the bone marrow, develop into a range of various types of cells, which include osteoclasts, a cell that's breaking down bone tissue.
Bone Loss
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, bone loss is a major symptom of gum disease and may eventually result in tooth loss. Also called periodontal disease, gum disease is affecting over 47 percent of adults 30 years and older.
An oral biology professor in the UB School of Dental Medicine, Keith Kirkwood, DDS, PhD said, even though there is a clear association between the level of obesity and periodontal disease, the machinery underpinning such links between these conditions were not fully understood.
The professor explained, this study promotes the notion that MDSC expansion during obesity to turn osteoclasts during periodontitis is associated with increased alveolar bone destruction.
Taken together, according to a postdoctoral associate in the UB Department of Oral Biology, Kyuhwan Kwack, Ph.D., this specific data backs the view that obesity increases the risk of periodontal bone loss.
The CDC describes periodontal diseases as mainly the result of inflammation and infections of the gums and bones that support and surround the teeth. In its early stage also known as gingivitis, the gums can turn red and swollen, and they are likely to bleed.
Given High-Fat and Low-Fat Diets in Mice
Specifically, the study investigated two groups of mouse models fed massively different diets over a 16-week period. One group was given a low-fat diet that derived 10-percent energy from fat, the other was provided with a high-fat diet that drew 45-percent energy from fat.
As a result, the investigation discovered that the high-fat diet group suffered from obesity, experienced more inflammation, and a greater rise of MDSCs in the bone marrow and spleen than the low-fat diet group.
Essentially, the high-fat group has developed a substantially larger number of osteoclasts and lost more the bone that's holding teeth in place, called alveolar bone, a similar ScienceDaily report said.
Furthermore, the expression of more than 25 genes tied to the formation of osteoclast was substantially raised in the group that was given a high-fat diet.
Study Findings
Results of the study published in the Journal of Dental Research may shed more light on the tools behind other chronic inflammatory, bone-associated diseases that develop simultaneously with obesity, like osteoporosis and arthritis, explained Kirkwood.
Other investigators of the study include Lixhia Zhang, a UB Department of Oral Biology scientist; Jiho Shohn, a Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at UB doctoral candidate; Victoria Maglaras, a UB School of Dental Medicine student; and Ramkumar Thiyagarajan, a Jacobs School research scientist.
Related report about the link between obesity and gum disease is shown on the Times of India's YouTube video below:
Check out more news and information on Obesity in Science Times.
