Project description:Collectively, viruses are the principal cause of cancers arising in patients with immune dysfunction, including HIV+ patients. Kaposi’s Sarcoma (KS) etiologically linked to KSHV continues to be the most common AIDS-associated tumor. The involvement of oral cavity represents one of the most common clinical manifestations of this tumor. HIV infection incurs an increased risk for periodontal diseases and oral carriage from a variety of pathogenic bacteria. In the current study, by using 16S rRNA based pyrosequencing, we found that oral shedding of KSHV altered oral microbiota signature in HIV+ patients which may contribute to virus-associated malignancies development.
Project description:Background: A growing body of evidence demonstrates a different bacterial composition in the oral cavity of patients with oral lichen planus (OLP). Patients and methods: Buccal swab samples were collected from affected and non-affected sites of six patients with reticular OLP and the healthy oral mucosa of six control subjects. 16S rRNA MiSeq sequencing and mass spectrometry-based proteomics and were utilised to identify the metataxonomic and metaproteomic profiles of the oral microbiome in both groups. Results: The most abundant species in the three subgroups were Streptococcus oralis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, accounting for up to 70% of the total population. A Canonical Correspondence Analysis showed differential clustering of samples from the healthy and OLP groups. Three species (Veillonella parvula, Actinomyces sp, and Lactococcus lactis) were significantly over-represented in the control group and one (Granulicatella elegans) in patients with OLP. The metaproteomic data revealed that several G. haemolysans-belonging peptidases and other proteins with inflammatory and virulence potential were found present in OLP lesions only. Conclusion: Our data suggest that several bacterial species and peptides are associated with OLP. Future studies with larger cohorts should be conducted to determine their role in the aetiology of OLP and evaluate their potential as disease biomarkers.