%0 Journal Article
%T Microbiological and molecular profile of furcation defects in a population with untreated periodontitis.
%A Santamaria P
%A Jin Y
%A Ghuman M
%A Shoaie S
%A Spratt D
%A Troiano G
%A Nibali L
%J J Clin Periodontol
%V 0
%N 0
%D 2024 Aug 7
%M 39109387
%F 7.478
%R 10.1111/jcpe.14034
%X <B>OBJECTIVE: </B>To describe the microbiological composition of subgingival dental plaque and molecular profile of gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) of periodontal furcation-involved defects.<BR><B>METHODS: </B>Fifty-seven participants with periodontitis contributed with a degree II-III furcation involvement (FI), a non-furcation (NF) periodontal defect and a periodontally healthy site (HS). Subgingival plaque was analysed by sequencing the V3-V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene, and a multiplex bead immunoassay was carried out to estimate the GCF levels of 18 GCF biomarkers. Aiming to explore inherent patterns and the intrinsic structure of data, an AI-clustering method was also applied.<BR><B>RESULTS: </B>In total, 171 subgingival plaque and 84 GCF samples were analysed. Four microbiome clusters were identified and associated with FI, NF and HS. A reduced aerobic microbiota (p = .01) was detected in FI compared with NF; IL-6, MMP-3, MMP-8, BMP-2, SOST, EGF and TIMP-1 levels were increased in the GCF of FI compared with NF.<BR><B>CONCLUSIONS: </B>This is the first study to profile periodontal furcation defects from a microbiological and inflammatory standpoint using conventional and AI-based analyses. A reduced aerobic microbial biofilm and an increase of several inflammatory, connective tissue degradation and repair markers were detected compared with other periodontal defects.