AUTHOR=Hajishengallis George , Kajikawa Tetsuhiro , Hajishengallis Evlambia , Maekawa Tomoki , Reis Edimara S. , Mastellos Dimitrios C. , Yancopoulou Despina , Hasturk Hatice , Lambris John D. TITLE=Complement-Dependent Mechanisms and Interventions in Periodontal Disease JOURNAL=Frontiers in Immunology VOLUME=10 YEAR=2019 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2019.00406 DOI=10.3389/fimmu.2019.00406 ISSN=1664-3224 ABSTRACT=
Periodontitis is a prevalent inflammatory disease that leads to the destruction of the tooth-supporting tissues. Current therapies are not effective for all patients and this oral disease continues to be a significant public health and economic burden. Central to periodontal disease pathogenesis is a reciprocally reinforced interplay between microbial dysbiosis and destructive inflammation, suggesting the potential relevance of host-modulation therapies. This review summarizes and discusses clinical observations and pre-clinical intervention studies that collectively suggest that complement is hyperactivated in periodontitis and that its inhibition provides a therapeutic benefit. Specifically, interception of the complement cascade at its central component, C3, using a locally administered small peptidic compound (Cp40/AMY-101) protected non-human primates from induced or naturally occurring periodontitis. These studies indicate that C3-targeted intervention merits investigation as an adjunctive treatment of periodontal disease in humans.