AUTHOR=Fraser David , Ganesan Sukirth M. TITLE=Microbiome, alveolar bone, and metabolites: Connecting the dots JOURNAL=Frontiers in Dental Medicine VOLUME=3 YEAR=2023 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/dental-medicine/articles/10.3389/fdmed.2022.1074339 DOI=10.3389/fdmed.2022.1074339 ISSN=2673-4915 ABSTRACT=

The oral microbiome (OM) is a diverse and dynamic collection of species, separated from the alveolar bone by the oral mucosa. Pathogenic shifts in the OM (dysbiosis) during periodontitis are associated with an inflammatory response in the oral mucosa that drives alveolar bone resorption. The alveolar bone is also affected by metabolic disorders such as osteoporosis. Accumulating evidence has linked another microbial community, the gut microbiome (GM), to systemic bone metabolism and osteoporosis. Underlying this connection is the biological activity of metabolites, byproducts of host and bacterial activity. Limited evidence also suggests that metabolites in the oral cavity signal between the OM and immune system, influencing both alveolar bone homeostasis and pathologic bone destruction in periodontitis. While the oral cavity and gut are connected through the gastrointestinal tract, dissimilar roles for known metabolites between these two niches exemplify the difficulty in translating knowledge on gut-derived metabolites and bone metabolism to the alveolar bone. Integrated metabolomic, transcriptomic, and metagenomic approaches hold promise for resolving these challenges and identifying novel metabolites that impact alveolar bone health. Further interrogation through mechanistic testing in pre-clinical models and carefully controlled clinical studies have the potential to lead to the translation of these discoveries into meaningful therapies.