Determinants of Oral Microbiome Composition

Abstract Body: Chronic oral infections / inflammations deriving from imbalanced oral microbiome are associated with increased risk of cardiometabolic diseases, but the mechanisms behind the connection are unclear. The oral cavity is the starting point of the gastrointestinal tract and thus, oral pathobionts have a direct access to rest of the body. They may change the composition of gut microbiome, and induce systemic inflammation, endotoxemia, and autoimmune reactions. Although gut microbiome’s essential role in general health is recognized, oral microbiome has remained unexplored. Oral infections are among modifiable risk factors and require further attention from both dentists and medical doctors to prevent cardiometabolic diseases more efficiently. In the framework of SuuRIN consortium, we will investigate causal links between oral microbiome and cardiometabolic diseases over the lifespan.
Pathomechanisms behind cardiometabolic diseases involve oral microbiome, which is measurable with state-of-art multi-omics technology to address its composition and functionality and interactions with the host. Besides gender and oral infections, other determinants of oral microbiome composition are poorly defined. These are likely to include diet and other lifestyle factors as well as age and genetic variation. In SuuRIN, we will integrate extensive oral omics data with existing data on medical, dental, host intrinsic and behavioural factors across age groups and use artificial intelligence and machine learning to dissect the contribution of oral microbiome to systemic inflammation and beyond.