Fellowship Brad Wurth:The Impact of Aging on Bacterial Clonal Types Found in Subgingival Plaque

Our laboratory is using the non-human primate calorie restriction model to study the effects of aging on host-bacterial interactions as they relate to microbial colonization of mucosal surfaces, the induction and regulation of inflammatory/immune responses, and the pathologic destruction of host tissues that may result from these interactions ("Aging: Effects on Infection, Inflammation and Disease" funded through NIH/NIA). Our preliminary studies in the Rhesus monkey model of caloric restriction and aging indicate that caloric restriction results in a decrease in the clinical expression of inflammation in oral tissues in response to colonization by a polymicrobial infection when compared to non-restricted animals. We hypothesize that this decrease in clinical expression of inflammation is due to alterations in the polymicrobial infection in the calorie restricted animals (as a model of aging) and that these alterations will be reflected at the genetic level within different bacterial species found in the subgingival plaque biofilm. The following Specific Aim is designed to address this hypothesis as related to one specific bacterial species associated with periodontal disease, Prevotella intermedia.